The Nigerian Government has eased visa processes for foreigners wishing to visit Nigeria for business and tourism purposes. The move was aimed at removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and encouraging business travelers and tourists in line with the national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria that was recently approved by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
In a statement recently released by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, he disclosed that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) reviewed requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer friendly, and added that details are available on the NIS website.
Some of the changes made include:
Opening additional 28 offices for issuance of Residence Permits in Nigeria, bringing the issuance of Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Cards (CERPAC) closer to the doorsteps of employers of expatriates at all 36 states and FCT.
Process review for visa on arrival (VoA), business visas, tourist visas and transit visas.
Harmonization of multiplicity of airport arrival and departure form/cards into a single form for all agencies of government to save visitors the frustration of filling three different forms or more.
Decentralization of immigration services to the State Commands.
Decentralization of re-issuance of passports for reasons such as change of name or loss cases, to all State Commands and Foreign Missions, to save passport holders from additional costs and inconvenience of travelling to the Service headquarters in Abuja.
These changes, according to him, are actions taken by the NIS to boost the ease of doing business and facilitate travelling for Nigerians and foreigners alike.
*Business Visas are available for foreign travelers who wish to come into Nigeria for meetings, conferences, seminars, contract negotiation, marketing, sales, purchase and distribution of Nigerian goods, trade fairs, job interviews, training of Nigerians, emergency/relief work, crew members, staff of NGOs, staff of INGOs, researchers and musical concerts.
*Tourist Visas are available to foreign travelers who wish to visit Nigeria for the purpose of tourism or to visit family and friends.
*Visa on Arrival is a class of short visit visa issued at the port of entry, and is available to frequently-travelled High-Net-Worth Investors and intending 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.