Nigeria’s new Visa Policy which came into effect January, 2020, will be officially unveiled to the public this morning in Abuja, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The new policy is sequel to the pronouncements in November 2019 by the Nigerian leader, that a new policy of visas on arrival would be granted to all African travellers starting from January, 2020.
Following the pronouncement, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), subsequently rolled out a new Vis-on- Arrival Application Process for all Business Travellers and African Union Countries, except for ECOWAS member countries.
The new policy favours Africans with valid passports who wish to come into the country for a short visit, for businesses, and for tourism, as the Visa grants them legal stay for up to 90 days.
President Buhari had while announcing the new policy at the Aswan Forum in Egypt, last November, stated that: “We in Nigeria have already taken the strategic decision to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent by introducing the issuance of visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African countries with effect from January 2020,”
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammed Babandede, while throwing more light on the new policy, explained that “the visa is only valid for people visiting, not for those who want residency or employment,”
“It is for high net worth investors and those visitors who may not be able to obtain visa at the Nigerian Missions/Embassies in their countries of residence due to the absence of a Nigerian mission in those countries or exigencies of urgent business travels,”
The NIS said all visitors coming into Nigeria from the affect countries shall be required to follow a procedure already outlined for the granting of the new visa.
