Expiry of dependent’s residence permit upon divorce

I am a foreigner residing in Tanzania on a dependent’s residence permit and was granted a dependent’s pass since I was married to an expatriate and wholly dependent on him. However, recently we divorced and the Court ordered my husband to continue maintaining me. My dependent’s pass is expiring in June, 2024 and I would like to stay in Tanzania until the expiry date of my pass and would like to know the legal status of my dependent’s pass after the divorce. Can I continue staying in Tanzania till the expiry of my pass in June 2024 because I still depend on the monthly maintenance allowance my husband was ordered to pay me?
AP, Mtwara

Regulation 10 of the Immigration Regulations, 1997 as amended by the Immigration (Amendment) Regulations, 2015 (GN No.541 of 2015) clearly state that the dependent’s pass granted to a spouse expires when such a spouse ceases to be the spouse of the applicant as a result of divorce or where the applicant leaves the United Republic of Tanzania in circumstances which raise reasonable presumption that his or her absence shall be permanent.

Hence technically the dependent’s pass expires on the date the dependent is divorced. The law does not provide an exception to a situation like yours where the holder of the dependent’s pass is divorced but he or she is still being maintained by the applicant on the basis of an order of the Court. In short, since you were granted a dependent’s pass on the basis of your marital status which has now changed after the divorce, your dependent’s pass has technically expired from the date of divorce.

A holder of a dependent’s pass, who is divorced, is required under regulation 10(2) of the Immigration Regulations to report the divorce to the nearest immigration office within 30 days from the date of divorce. Failure to report the divorce to a nearest immigration office constitutes an offence which attracts a penalty of not less than TZS 300,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.

We recommend you to go to the immigration office with the Court judgment which granted you the maintenance allowance and ask the immigration officers to decide whether you can continue to stay in Tanzania until the expiry of your current dependent’s pass or they can provide you with a special pass or equivalent while you process your departure from Tanzania.

Age limit for grant of a driving a licence

I want to buy a car for my father who is 85 years old as a Christmas gift. Does the law allow such an old man to learn driving and get a driving licence? Is there an age limit for getting or holding a driving licence?
LW, Dar es Salaam

Section 25 of the Road Traffic Act [Cap.168 R.E 2002] provides only the minimum age for grant of a driving licence. Extreme old age does not, in itself, disqualify a person from getting a driving licence unless he is suffering from vision problems attributed to old age. The minimum age for driving a car is 18 years. A person under the age of 16 years is totally disallowed to get a driving licence but a person between the age of 16 and 17 can get a driving licence but only for moped motorcycles. Unless there are other reasons we are not aware of, you can proceed to buy the car for your father. Remember that even if he cannot drive, you can always employ a driver so the old man can enjoy his car!

Possession of traditional liquor

I am back to my home village for a break and the old men in my village enjoy traditional liquor rather than beer. They asked me to buy them traditional liquor which I accepted. I went to buy traditional liquor for them and on my way back from the traditional distiller I was arrested by village militia while carrying two gallons of traditional liquor on a motorcycle. The militia took me to the police station where I was detained for two hours but later granted police bail and asked to report back to the police station this week. Can I put a defence that I bought the liquor just as a Christmas gift for the old men of my village and not for sale?
KR, Musoma

Traditional Liquor (Control of Distillation) Act [Cap.384 R.E 2002] prohibits not only the sale of traditional liquor commonly known as gongo, moshi or chang’aa but also possession and even consumption of the local liquor unless the possessor is a licensee or an authorised distiller. Possession of local liquor without a licence is a very serious offence which is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.

A plea that the possession was only meant for free supply to the old men in the village cannot, in law, cannot be accepted as a defence to exonerate the offender from the criminal liability. Possession of traditional liquor is a strict liability offence which does not require proof of the offender’s intention. After all, since even consumption of the traditional liquor is an offence, the fact that possession was meant only for free supply cannot be an excuse. In short possession of local liquor is an offence under section 30 of the Traditional Liquor (Control of Distillation) Act.