Let the Fijian diaspora come back home if you want to grow the economy.

New Zealand Fiji Business Council (NZFBC) president Chandar Sen made this comment as he highlighted this as a challenging area that Government must address.

“You want to grow the economy, you let the diaspora come back,” Mr Sen said at the Fiji New Zealand-New Zealand Fiji Business Councils’ 2024 Joint Conference in Nadi last Friday.

“And those who were born here should just be given their birth right, a passport and not have to pay thousands of dollars.”

Mr Sen said just a few investors coming to Fiji will fill the kitty with those fees that Fiji now has.

He highlighted the challenge with obtaining a visa.

“Coming into Fiji to bring workers is an absolute nightmare.

“And as we acknowledge the Department of Immigration putting things in place, we can’t wait here and start there. We got to be doing something concurrently, so they need to then get a framework that is in place temporarily.

“And Fiji can’t rely on foreigners coming from every where in the world to come and destroy the fabric of Fiji. So appreciate visa will have to be there.”

Mr Sen said air connectivity also needed to be improved.

“In the past, we can fly into Suva in the morning, do our work and fly back in the evening flight. Now it’s a three-day journey so please, improve the connectivity.”