In 2016, the Immigration service identified 949 foreigners who were violating the terms of their tourist visa by working in the country.
This number included 112 Indonesian nationals, four from China, six from Vietnam, 11 from Cambodia and five from Australia.
Immigration Commander of Operations, Assistant Inspector Vicente Gusmão said most of those working illegally on a tourist visa were from Indonesia.
“They come and use the tourist visa, but when they are here they look for a job for their own benefit,” he said.
He said the majority were working in construction, small business or running restaurants.
Of the 949 identified, he said 813 people had paid a fine to the government, while the remainder will be deported to their home country.
He called on foreigners to abide by the country’s immigration regulations and to apply for the correct visa if their intention is to work in Timor-Leste.
“They should have the sense not to break the internal regulations,” he said.
Meanwhile, MP Anna Ribeiro expressed her appreciation to the Immigration service for their work in detecting visa violations.
However, with the number of foreigners working illegally in the country on tourist visas rising annually, she said Immigration needed to improve their operations.
“The government should fix the system so that people do not break the regulations,” she said.
