By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Alpheous Nxumalo,the Government Spokesperson says eSwatini will engage Ireland after the banning of visa-free travels to the Europe country.

Nxumalo released a statement after this Swaziland News reported earlier on Saturday that, emaSwati have been banned from traveling to Ireland without visas.

“While these new visa requirements present an adjustment for Eswatini nationals, ongoing discussions with the Government of Ireland aim to ensure a balanced approach that minimises disruption to legitimate travel while upholding security and immigration protocols,” reads the statement in part.

This Swaziland News reported earlier on Saturday that, Jim O’Callaghan, the Irish Minister of Justice, Home Affairs and Immigration “has banned all emaSwati from traveling to Ireland without visas amid alleged fraudulent and illegal immigration to the European country”.

This comes after Ireland introduced an asylum program for individuals facing persecution in their home countries including eSwatini.

But the process of traveling to Ireland was subsequently hijacked by a syndicate collecting monies amounting between two thousand five hundred United States(US) Dollars($2500.00) or fifty thousand Rands(R50,000.00) while some were collecting about five thousand US Dollars($5000.00) or one hundred thousand Rands(R100,000.00) to process or facilitate the traveling to Ireland.

“Applying for a visa is a screening mechanism to ensure we are facilitating legitimate travel,” said the Irish Justice Minister through a statement.

Eswatini has been banned together with Lesotho and Nauru and, this decision was announced on Friday afternoon.