Fraud crackdownIraqis now need visas to visit Yemen [Archives:2004/718/Local News]

By Mohammed Binsallam
Yemen Times Staff
Yemeni Immigration and Passports Authority have circulated Interior Ministry instructions to airports and other outlets that the Iraqis have to get entry visas before they can enter Yemen.
He new instructions also stipulate the granting, for Iraqi living in Yemen, exit and entry visas and work permits if they pay duties of 7,500 YR (about $40) in addition to the visa duty of $20, a measure similar to non-Arab nationals living in Yemen.
Iraqis before the fall of Saddam Hussein regime were exempted from residence duties and could enter Yemen without visa, similar to nationals from other Arab countries.
A source at the ministry clarified to the media that the measure taken recently by the Immigration and Passports Authority, to prevent the persons carrying Iraqi passports from entering Yemen without visa, was part of precautionary measures.
The source told the Yemeni Arab-language weekly 26 September, that published the news on Thursday, “the motive behind that step was because of the noticeable spread of forged Iraqi passports lately after the fall of the former Iraqi regime, as it is thought that a large number of documents and passports had leaked outside.”
He pointed out that as a result of that situation and for preventing the infiltration of suspect elements into Yemen by using Iraqi-forged passports, a decision was taken for regulating the entry and exit of Iraqi citizens and also their residency.
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