President Muhammadu Buhari has officially presented to the public the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) for the year 2020.
The president today Tuesday 4th of January launched the policy which allows travellers to visit Nigeria without visas and only commences the process of obtaining a visa upon arrival into the country. The presented document is the revised version.
Buhari said the review of the visa policy is envisioned to encourage innovation, grow specialized skills and knowledge from outside Nigeria to complement local ones.
The policy is projected to “boost economic activities in many neglected areas like tourism, aviation, entertainment, commerce and other areas where Nigeria has a comparative advantage over other African countries.”
A key highlight of the policy is the privilege it gives to Africans visiting Nigeria to obtain their visas on arrival at the country’s four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano.
Present at the new visa policy, which took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja is the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammed Babandede.
While speaking to journalists, the Minister of Interior said the new visa policy has broadened the scope of visa obtainment in Nigeria from the hitherto six (6) categories to 79.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said the visa on arrival could only be obtained in four international airports, which he listed as Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport.
He said the Enugu International Airport which is undergoing renovation was the fifth airport where the visa could be obtained on arrival.
Aregbesola’s counterpart, the Comptroller General of Immigration Service said that every nation has its visa policy based on its needs, adding that the new policy will take care of an emergency, education, religious tourism among others.
