Beyond COVID-19: How Fiji Became One of the First Pacific Countries to Reopen its Borders
Located in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, the island country of Fiji is seen as the hub of the Pacific, with its international airports and seaports connecting many of its Pacific Island neighbours to the rest of the world. With a population of roughly 800,000 people, Fiji hosts many international migrants, especially from other Pacific Island countries, who come to work, study, visit families or for leisure.
This link was severed over the course of 2020 with a sequence of crises — first the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the devastating impacts of Tropical Cyclone Yasa — testing both the country’s resilience and its linkage to the world.
When the COVID-19 outbreak reached this island hub in December 2019, Fiji was forced to close its borders a few months later in March 2020. With borders shut, economic activity significantly reduced, as many as 116,000 Fijians lost their jobs, the majority of whom worked in the tourism sector.
For a country that is heavily dependent on tourism, this had wide impacts. Numbers from the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association show that foreign exchange figures earned through this sector pre-COVID-19 stood at 2.1 billion Fijian dollars, and more than one billion Fijian dollars was collected in taxes. The indirect impact meant there was less spending power locally and many businesses struggled to keep their head above water, while other smaller businesses and micro-enterprises closed completely.
Fiji’s fortunes took another downturn later that year, with the devastating Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasa hitting the country in December 2020. Acutely aware of the ongoing situation, the Fijian government was now battling these challenges on both fronts — responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and providing emergency response to communities affected by Tropical Cyclone Yasa.
As Fiji began to address these challenges, IOM joined in its efforts to ensure there were processes being put in place to manage the country’s borders safely, in the likelihood that Fiji would soon reopen its doors to the world.
Designed with this context in mind, IOM began working with Fiji’s Immigration Department to strengthen the country’s border management capacities. The objective of the IOM Development Fund project was to contribute to the efforts of the Government of Fiji in enhancing border security and travel facilitation, and thus strengthen its migration governance capacities.
Among its aims was to support the Fijian Immigration Department in updating its immigration and border management processes and policies for a changing reality that required fluid and quick responses. Additionally, the project involved a strong capacity development element for the Fiji Immigration Department and other border management agencies to apply new skills and knowledge to their operations. The trainings included technical skills such as basic travel document examination and interview skills. Other subject areas incorporated were irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.
“This training and the mock run exercise at the Airport will help us identify gaps within our operational processes (such as the facilitation of mass arrivals) which will improve our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for COVID-19 Protocols which strengthens our response and preparedness even beyond COVID-19.”
Dr James Fong, Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services, Fiji
With the changing circumstances, the project contextualized some of its work so that the country could in the short-term reopen its borders, and in the long-term, be equipped to manage its migration and border governance regime as migrants and visitors return to the Pacific Island.
The project first adapted the IOM Risk Assessment Tool and the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) to conduct training and support Fiji in dealing with the challenges of the pandemic at the border. Part of the COVID-19 procedures included SOPs on burden of proof, search and arrest, and detention and custody. Another border management workshop was delivered a month prior to borders fully opening in Fiji in December 2021. The training was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs & Immigration, the Ministry of Health, Customs, Fiji Airways, Civil Aviation Authority, Fiji Airports and Fiji Tourism Association.
The project also developed six training modules on border management systems, border processes and procedures, as well as migration data management, intelligence, and information sharing. More than 80 immigration and border officials have received training on these modules thus far, which collectively form the first training curriculum for Fiji’s Immigration Department.
“The IOM Development Fund project enabled IOM to support the Government of Fiji in further developing the capacity of border officials and strengthen Fiji’s border governance and border management processes at a crucial time when Fiji needed to deal effectively with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic at the border. Fiji was one of the first countries in the Pacific to reopen its borders.”
Mr. Solomon Kantha, Chief of Mission, IOM Fiji
Fiji’s borders are now fully open, with nearly 70,000 visitors entering the country in March 2023 alone. The Minister for Tourism, Mr. Viliame Gavoka, expressed his optimism in his address at Parliament, about the tourism industry, with visitor numbers exceeding expectations, surpassing even pre-pandemic levels. Fiji is slowly progressing along the road to economic recovery and IOM remains committed to continue supporting the country in its efforts to facilitate safe and orderly travel across Fiji’s borders.
