Africans affected as Brazil imposes entry restrictions on ‘stopover’ migrants

Brazil has placed restrictions on the entry of some foreigners who use the country as a midpoint to migrate to the United States of America and Canada.

The restrictions, introduced on Monday, will mostly affect migrants from Asian and African countries, The Rio Times, a local newspaper, reports.

A federal police investigation showed many migrants often buy flights with layovers in Sao Paulo’s international airport, en route to other destinations, but stay in Brazil and begin their journey to the US and Canada.

The restrictions were said to be imposed in response to concerns about human trafficking.

Police said most asylum seekers in Brazil lack legitimate grounds for their claims.

Under the new rules, those seeking asylum must demonstrate that they face persecution in their home countries to be allowed entry.

Jean Uema, Brazil’s national secretary of justice, said travellers without visas, who are simply transiting and face no real risk, will be denied entry.

Official documents provided to The Associated Press showed that over 70 percent of requests for refuge at the airport come from people with either Indian, Nepalese, or Vietnamese nationalities.

The African nations of Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana, and Ethiopia are among the remaining 30 percent of asylum seekers.

Nigerians have also flocked to the South American country in recent times.

Last year, four Nigerians perched atop a ship’s rudder for 14 days, with a distance spanning 5,600 kilometres (3,500 miles) of ocean.

Two of the men sought asylum upon arrival in Brazil. The others were deported.

On Thursday, a Nigerian woman gave birth midair en route to Brazil.

The woman said she and her husband were travelling for their “honeymoon and babymoon”.