Foreigners coming into Nigeria are currently being squeezed by a new immigration policy, demanding a compulsory 110 dollar fee at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) which has caught many travellers unawares.
The new policy imposes an additional $90 on foreigners arriving the country as Biometric Visa-On-Arrival charge, apart from the visa fees they had already paid in their respective countries before embarking on the journey to Nigeria.
Foreigners were also compelled to pay additional $20 as service charge to the Federal Government through the concessionaire that the service was concessioned to.
A notice pasted at the immigration points at the airport reads “This notice serves to inform you of the commencement of Visa-on-Arrival on the 11th of June, 2018 by the Nigeria Immigration Service. Please note that all visitors will now be enrolled at our point of entries as a pre-requisite for visa issuance and the amount will attract a service charge of $90.”
A visit to the airport yesterday showed several passengers stranded at the immigration counters over inability to pay the compulsory 110dollars. While foreigners who could afford the fee were forced to use their credit cards for the payment of the two sums, others had to call their agents and companies who were to receive them to come to their aid.
South Africans for instance paid the sum of $58 as visa fee for Nigeria in their country, but were still compelled to pay the sum of $90 as biometrics and additional $20 for processing on arrival at Lagos Airport. This also applies to other countries.
Several people have reacted to the new development, stressing that it is a contradiction to the ease of doing business campaign promoted by the federal government.
The Federal Government has touted its rise in the 2018 World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) which placed it 145th position out of 190 countries in the index.
“The government has promised to ensure ease of doing business for foreigners by way of Visa-on-Arrival. How can the same government impose a sum of 110dollars for biometric Visa-On-Arrival charge and service charge after the foreigners have paid for visas in their countries?” a travel expert who craved anonymity queried.
Jonathan Lokpobiri one of those whose foreign client was affected by the policy took to his twitter handle.
He wrote, “Does it mean Nigeria now adopts ‘Visa Issuance on Arrival’ Policy like Dubai and other Tourist based economies of the world? Or is this applicable to also foreigners with a valid Nigerian Visa? I hope this is well considered policy of Government as it will surely have a backlash!”
The new policy of $90 of biometric did not exempt the countries that Nigeria already has gratis with, as their citizens were equally compelled to pay the sum. These are counties where citizens don’t pay for visa before visiting Nigeria because of the reciprocity agreement between the two countries.
Some of the countries with gratis with Nigeria include Mauritius, Barbados, Dominica, Fiji Island and Haiti.
A source at the passport office told BusinessDay that the new visa reform commenced because of the ease of doing business policy in Nigeria, adding that as a result, new policies and innovations came up.
“Nigerians should stop agitating in support of the foreigners. The process of having visa on arrival starts from the country where the foreigners originate from. They apply and the applications are sent to Abuja for processing. They are only queuing up at the airport to get the visa because Nigeria has enhanced the ease of doing business,” the immigration source added.
