A New Sponsor Portal for Work Visas

Immigration launch a new Sponsor Portal that makes work permit and work visa application convenient and easy.

The Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority (ICSA) is pleased to officially announce the launching of a new digital platform that merges work permit and working resident visa into a single digital application.

The Sponsor Portal is a web-based interface that allows private sector companies who employ foreign nationals to lodge a work permit and working resident visa in a single digital application.

The Acting Chief Migration Officer, Wellington Navasivu, said the Sponsor Portal provides businesses with a streamlined process to lodge the combined work permit and employment visa online with a system that directly interfaces with the Immigration’s (ICSA) Border Management System or BMS.

He explained that the users of the system can input data and pay the necessary Migration Service Fee (MSF) online at the convenience of their office anytime, anywhere, instead of physically visiting an Immigration Office. Furthermore, the Sponsor Portal would significantly improve processing time and enhance customer service through the client interface which allows Sponsors to see the status of applications and interact with ICSA via the system.

Mr Navasivu further explained that the Sponsor Portal gives the responsibility back to the employer who will have direct oversight of their employees including alerts when visas are near expiry.
The Acting CMO says the Sponsor Portal will slowly phase-out work permit and the end result will be a Working resident visa. This means that the users of the Sponsor Portal will no longer get a work permit letter and ID card. Instead, they will be issued with a working resident visa which gives them the lawful permission to enter the country and work.

Mr Navasivu said the launch of the Sponsor Portal now concludes the merger of Work Permit with visa and signifies a milestone achievement for ICSA and the government in advancing its one-stop-shop initiative to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Following today’s launch, selected companies immediately came onboard to be the first users of the Sponsor Portal. To access the Portal on the immigration website www.ica.gov.pg, a one-time registration fee of USD25 Unites States Dollars is charged for new registration. A further USD75 applies for the online administration fee per application and the standard Migration Service Fee is charged on each application.