MBABANE – Two Vietnamese nationals brought to Eswatini in 2025 have returned to their home country under voluntary repatriation arrangements.
The two left Eswatini on Monday November 2, 2026, and arrived safely in Viet Nam yesterday.
This was confirmed by Acting Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli in a press statement issued yesterday.
According to Mdluli, the two individuals were among the second batch of third-country nationals (TCNs) who arrived in Eswatini in 2025.
Their departure marks another development in government’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the voluntary return of TCNs to their countries of origin.
Mdluli said the repatriation was made possible through cooperation between government and relevant partners.
She expressed government’s appreciation to the stakeholders who assisted in facilitating the return of the two nationals.
The acting government spokesperson said cooperation among the parties involved was important in ensuring that repatriations were conducted safely and with respect for the individuals concerned.
Government further reaffirmed its commitment to working with national authorities and international partners to facilitate the voluntary return of TCNs.
Mdluli said the process would continue to take into account the rights, dignity and well-being of the individuals involved.
The latest repatriation follows the return of 11 third-country nationals to their countries of origin since Eswatini entered into a bilateral arrangement with the United States in July 2025.
As previously reported by the Times of Eswatini, acting government spokesperson confirmed on October 25, 2026, that the 11 individuals had been repatriated under the arrangement.
This was subsequent to the voluntary return of a Guinean national who departed Eswatini on October 23 and arrived in his home country the following day.
Earlier, on October 7, government confirmed that three other nationals, from Yemen, Belize and Laos, had voluntarily returned to their respective countries.
The Yemeni national departed on September 8, followed by the Belizean national on September 30 and the Laotian national on October 4.
The repatriations form part of an arrangement under which Eswatini agreed to receive third-country nationals transferred from the United States while arrangements were made for their return to their countries of origin.
The first group of five nationals arrived in July 2025. They were from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Viet Nam and Yemen.
One of them, Jamaican national Orville Isaac Etoria, was repatriated on September 21, 2025, after voluntarily requesting to return home.
Government subsequently announced in October 2025 that another group of third-country nationals would be received under the same bilateral arrangement.
The latest return of the two Vietnamese nationals brings the reported cumulative number of repatriations to 13, based on government’s previously announced total of 11.
