(1 minute read)
· Nigeria’s new visa policy is more liberal now in the midst of
closing the gates to neighboring countries
· The new directives provide for visa on arrival for citizens
of African Union member countries, while visitors interested in
tourism and entertainment should benefit from the new electronic visa
Nigeria’s new visa policy is more liberal now in the midst of closing
the gates to neighborhood countries
Nigeria has relaxed its immigration regulations in a new visa policy
announced by the president, interior minister and other top
technocrats at the presidency in Abuja. The relaxed policy primarily
seeks to attract foreign investors to boost trade in Africa’s biggest
economy and most populous nation.
The new directives provide for visa on arrival for citizens of African
Union member countries, while visitors interested in tourism and
entertainment should benefit from the new electronic visa. The new
Visa Policy is designed to building a globally competitive economy, by
helping attract innovation, and specialized skills and knowledge from
abroad, to complement locally available ones. It also echoes the
country’s determination to usher in a new dispensation to attract more
investment and trade from abroad. The new visa policy comes some six
months after the country’s entry into the African Continental Free
Trade Area. It is expected that Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport will
receive thousands of visitors in the coming months.
Ironically, Nigeria’s border with neighboring countries including
Benin has remained closed since 19 August 2019 with no definitive date
for reopening. Abuja is justifying the closure with claims that it was
to arrest smuggling in and out of the country.
