Samoa Moves to Restrict Travel for Dual Citizens

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The Samoa Government has prohibited people who hold more than one citizenship to use a foreign passport to travel out of Samoa and returning using his or her Samoan passport for a short term trip.

This is one of new amendments to the State of Emergency Order approved by Cabinet this week.

According to the SOE order, “A person who holds more than one citizenship, who uses a foreign passport to travel out of Samoa, and returns to Samoa using his or her Samoan passport for a short term trip, breaches order 2(2) and is subject to a fine of $2,000.00 in addition to being subject to paying his or her own costs for quarantine as required.

The new orders also warn that a person commits an offense where the person does not comply with quarantine requirements issued by the Director General of the Ministry of Health attracting a penalty of $ST2,000.

The amendments also allow domestic flight services between Upolu and Savaii to operate on Sundays for emergency medical services only.

Meanwhile government has again re-scheduled a repatriation flight from New Zealand due to have arrived ‪September‬ 11.

The flight is designated for returning citizens and RSE workers who should be returning home at the end of their employment contracts.

The repatriation flight for returning scholarship students who have completed studies in Australia, Japan, China and Papua New Guinea scheduled for the end of September is proceeding as scheduled for the last week of September.

According to a cabinet directive issued last Wednesday, Samoan residents and citizens who have been unable to return home from Australia due to COVID-19 are also included in the repatriation flight.

Passengers will be responsible for their own airfares.

Cabinet has also approved arrangements to bring home deceased citizens with the tragic passing of a scholarship student as well as an RSE worker in the past month.

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