Immigration authorities have arrested more than 1,000 foreign nationals and deported 223 others in a crackdown that has also exposed attempts by foreigners to fraudulently obtain Malawian passports.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services says it has also rejected 1,752 visa applications as it tightens controls over foreigners entering and staying in the country.
Among those arrested are 45 foreign nationals suspected of attempting to obtain Malawian passports fraudulently, raising fresh concerns about the security of the country’s travel documents.
In a related development, two foreigners, Yasin Chenda Moses, a Zambian national, and Bornlose Onasimbo Ntinkha, a Tanzanian, were convicted in Blantyre last week for attempting to fraudulently obtain Malawian passports. They are awaiting deportation to their respective countries.
The department has also moved to investigate questions surrounding a passport application made in the name of Alice Banda in Lilongwe, working with the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to verify information submitted during the national identity registration process.
According to immigration spokesperson Pasqually Zulu, the application underwent document verification on November 5, 2026, but was rejected at the interview stage the following day. It was later rejected again during the audit process.
Zulu said the applicant was never issued a Malawian passport because the application did not successfully go through the entire processing procedure.
However, the department says investigations are continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the rejection and determine whether anyone attempted to influence the processing of the application.
The department has warned that it will not tolerate passport fraud or abuse of immigration procedures, saying a Malawian passport is a sovereign national document whose integrity must be protected.
