Senators have said that some members of the Rwandan community living abroad face difficulties accessing government services online through Irembo – an online service portal – in case they do not have telephone numbers from Rwanda or National IDs.

They exposed the issue on Wednesday, February 23, as they deliberated on the report of its Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security as part of the oversight activity on government in terms of its services to the Rwandan community living abroad.

The Committee had held talks with representatives of the Rwandan community living abroad.

President of the Senate Augustin Iyamuremye leads a prelinary session in 2020. Senators have said that Rwandan community living abroad face difficulties accessing government services online . Craish Bahizi

"They indicated that they cannot open an account on Irembo website since they are required to enter a phone number and a national ID number which they do not have,” said Senator John Bonds Bideri, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

This means members of the Rwandan community abroad who do not have the phone number and national ID number cannot access public services provided via Irembo, he added.

Bideri pointed out that they requested that the services offered via Irembo should not heavily focus on using telephone numbers from Rwandan and the National IDs.

The Senate requested the government to address the challenges that the Rwandan diaspora face while seeking public services.

Passport related challenges.

For passport access, Bideri said that there were two main challenges.

The first is the capture of photos and giving biometrics (fingerprints) which require them to go to the embassy, and have to return there to collect their passport another day.

"Some who live in large countries or far from embassies, expressed concern that it is costly as they sometimes have to board an aeroplane to the embassies, and it is also time consuming,” he said. "They suggested that, if possible, the collection of photo and biometrics should be done the same day the person will get their passport.”

Meanwhile, he said that some embassy officials argued that they can send the passport to the holder via courier delivery service.

The second challenge, Bideri said, is the passports for children which are valid for only two years.

Rwandans abroad said that this is costly for them as they have to renew passports for their young ones every two years, requesting that the period should be extended to five years as is the case for the adult passport.

He indicated that embassy officials explained that the shorter validity period for a child passport was informed by the fact that a child’s face changes considerably as they grow up.

Meanwhile, Senators commended the government’s move announced on February 21 this year enabling Rwandan community abroad to apply for national identity cards and e-Passports via the Irembo portal.

Bideri said that before this development, for members of Rwanda's diaspora to be able to get a National ID, they had to come to Rwanda, indicating that the diaspora had requested that such a service be offered at Embassy.

Also, he said that if a Rwandan from diaspora comes to Rwanda for business purposes yet they do not have a national ID, they are treated as foreign investors.

Senator Laetitia Nyinawamwiza said that the cost to get a passport from Embassies in large countries was high and strategies should be devised to lower them.

For instance in Canada, Embassy offers services to Rwandans twice a week. If you had to board a plane to Ottawa, that involves a flight fee and is time-consuming. It becomes worse if one does not get served the same day and has to return,” she said