In September 2015, the Federal Ministry of Interior, the supervising Ministry for the Nigeria Immigration Service, announced, through a publication in some national dailies, new guidelines for the control and monitoring of non-resident expatriates in Nigeria. This category of expatriates is not covered by the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card (CERPAC) regime.
These guidelines, among other things, stipulated some conditions for extension of stay of non-resident expatriates in Nigeria. However, a key aspect of these guidelines, the aggregate rule, appears to have generated some controversy and concerns among stakeholders, especially in relation to family visitors and those visiting for the purpose of tourism.
This article seeks to examine the visa extension policy, the aggregate rule and the burning issues that need to be addressed by the regulators to ensure government’s aim of creating an enabling environment for business and tourism activities is achieved.
Nigeria’s visa policy provides for various categories of entry visas to Nigeria. For short-term work related assignments, entry is permitted on Temporary Work Permit (TWP) visa (usually between 4-12 weeks) while Subject to Regularization (STR) visa is for long term assignments and residency. On the other hand, Business visitors, Tourists or family visitors are allowed entry on the applicable business or tourist visas to Nigeria.
Upon arrival in Nigeria, all visitors are issued with the relevant arrival stamp which indicates the allowed period of stay in the country. This arrival stamp is also referred to as the Visitor’s Pass (VP). VP of 60 days is typically granted to holders of TWP visas while 30 days is issued to those on business or tourist visas. Expatriates on STR visas are issued VP of 90 days.
With the introduction of the visa extension guidelines in 2015, opportunity for visitors to stay in the country beyond the validity of their arrival stamps received a boost.
Based on the policy, all visitors are entitled to a minimum of 56 days in Nigeria, irrespective of their visa category and at no cost. However, statutory payments would be required from 57 days upwards. Visitors that intend to stay for 57 – 90 days in Nigeria would be required to pay an extension fee of $200. The $200 is for 34 days extension after the initial 56 days, of free stay in the country. A subsequent extension for a period of 91-180 days attracts a statutory payment of $1,000.
Any visitor that stays for more than 3 months at a stretch in Nigeria is liable to pay $1,000 and those who intend to stay beyond 180 days would be required to pay $2,000.
It should be noted that, irrespective of the extension fee, once a visitor departs the country, the payment made to process the required extension of stay ceases to be of any effect.
Based on the revised guidelines, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) uses the aggregate rule to determine applicable extension fees.
The aggregate rule states that ‘in determining the applicable extension fee, an aggregate is taken of all periods of presence in the country and periods of absence, starting from the date of first arrival into the country’.
This rule takes into cognisance of all visits to Nigeria within a 12-month period. Thus, the duration of stay while in Nigeria and outside are considered in determining the applicable extension fees.
For example, let’s say we have “Expatriate A” who first arrived Nigeria on a multiple entry tourist visa on 1 October 2018, stayed for 50 days in the country, and then exited the country. If this “Expatriate A” returns to Nigeria on 15 January, 2019, and requires an extension of stay beyond the allowed period of 30 days, he would be required to pay an extension fee of $1,000. This is because between 1 October 2018 and 15 January 2019 when he returned to Nigeria, there is an aggregate of 97 days, thereby placing the expatriate within the 91-180 days bracket.
One of the objectives of using the aggregate rule to determine the applicable extension fees is to discourage visitors from overstaying in Nigeria on a non-work related visa. Until December 2018 resident expatriates in Nigeria paid a thousand dollars ($1,000) for their work/residence permit (CERPAC) annually, while this same amount was required from any visitor staying for more than 90 days.
For family visitors, whose spouses are on non-resident status in the country, the aggregate rule poses a huge financial burden to them. This, in turn, may affect retention of specialized skilled personnel who may decide to exit the country due to the high cost of keeping their close family members with them on visits.
Furthermore, the aggregate rule could also impede Foreign Direct Investment as intending investors, who may have to make several trips to Nigeria on Business visas and request for extension of stay within a 12-month period could fall into the $2,000 category.
In addition, tourism all over the world has proven to be a huge source of foreign exchange critical for economic development. Several countries within the Africa region, including Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and even beyond Africa, have been able to tap into the potentials that tourism provides to fuel economic development and growth.
Unfortunately, many observers have noted that Nigeria has not been able to fully realize the potentials that abound in its tourism industry. Although this cannot be attributed fully to it, the high cost of securing extension of stay due to the aggregate rule may inhibit the development of tourism activities in the country.
Given the challenges that the aggregate rule presents to family visitors and tourists, the Nigerian government, through the Federal Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service, is encouraged to review the aggregate rule aspect of the visa extension policy. There should be a clear distinction in the extension fees that would be paid by tourist, and family visitors on one hand and those on business and temporary work permit visas.
Specifically, expatriates on tourist and business visas (who do not carry out any work and who also do not earn any income while in Nigeria) should not be subjected to same rate as those on a work visa (TWP).
There is no doubt that Nigeria, as a developing nation, requires Foreign Direct Investment, which may come in the form of new investments and through the activities of tourists, to grow the economy.
Therefore, it is hoped that the government would look into the issues that have been identified in the extension guidelines and address the concerns of stakeholders to ensure that the country reaps the benefits of global migration, which has become a recurring feature all over the world.
ADENIKE YOMI-FSEUN & BUKUMI OLANIYONU
Yomi-Faseun, (Associate Director, KPMG) & Olaniyonu, (Manager, KPMG), are both of the Tax, Regulatory and People Services Division of KPMG, Nigeria
