Fiji's capital Suva. (file photo) Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Fiji government has announced new measures to tackle its soaring illegal immigrant population.
The number of illegal residents in the country has doubled in a year and now stands at more than 8000.
A government source told RNZ Pacific that 90 percent of offenders were Pacific Islanders who had come to Fiji to study and then overstayed.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka admitted that the number of overstayers had exploded from 4709 in January 2023 to more than 8000 within a year.
Rabuka was asked in parliament last week what the government was doing about the disturbing trend.
On Monday, Fiji One News reported that the government had implemented a comprehensive strategy to effectively "deal" with the issue.
"The Fiji intelligence department has enhanced border management capabilities, with an intelligence and assessment structure that coordinates information proactively," Rabuka said.
"This assessment will point out emerging trends and issues of border security, identify irregular migration movement and provide a border security landscape to avoid an increase in numbers."
According to a report by fijivillage.com, Rabuka questioned whether Fiji had been "too passive" in its approach to illegal immigration.
"Perhaps we should take a more proactive role with our investigators and our police actually asking people on the street for ID, if they look suspicious," he was quoted as saying.
