With the launch of the first-ever Vanuatu National Migration Policy last week, the Vanuatu Immigration Office will expand its scope to address migration in the country.

The policy will serve as a foundation to expand and improve work on monitoring migration patterns within the country and abroad.

In an interview with the Director of the Immigration Office, Jeffery Markson said the National Migration Policy will greatly assist with the collection of data on the movement of people during different events happening in the country.

This includes climate change events, data collection on migration patterns, and more.

“A few include climate change, like weather patterns that affect people and push them to move from one place to another. The Department of Immigration has a responsibility to ensure we collect data and share it with other agencies. We also assist in terms of conditions such as visas, and migration data.”

Director Maxon went on to say that the importance of the policy is evident during major health crises that affect the country, such as COVID-19.

“We saw the importance during COVID, the movement of families from Ambae to Santo, and also the department faced challenges in finding whether a person coming into the country is only in Vila or travels to another island. Currently, we only know they are in Vila, but maybe the policy gives us strategies on how or where they travel.”

Markson said that currently the migration landscape is changing, and the policy will help the government make informed decisions when dealing with migration issues.

It will also help national development.

With this policy, the Vanuatu Immigration Office will expand its scope to address migration in the country.