As the Federal Government’s expansion of the Visa On Arrival (VOA) policy gets more popular around the world, more foreigners are key in into the programme to enter the country with easy.
Investigations by African Business Travel News (ABTN) revealed that no few than 14, 000 foreigners arriving the country for business and tourism benefitted from the scheme at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in the first half of this year.
Our correspondent, who investigated into how foreigners are responding to the visa on arrival policy of the Federal Government as driven by Easy of Doing Business in the country, reported that an average of 700 foreigners entering the country for businesses and tourism procure their visas through the Visa On arrival scheme every week at the nation’s busiest international airport.
Our source at the airport said though the visas are issued subject to the approval by the Comptroller General Immigrations (CGI) in Abuja. It is expected that the foreigners must have received the approval before leave their countries for Nigeria
Though Nigeria started the Visa on Arrival scheme started in 2012 with Nigeria and nationals of Kenya and some East African countries but did not gain momentum until in 2017 when the Federal Government brought in the Executive order on Ease of Doing Business which extended the scheme to cover all countries whose nationals travel into Nigeria on two categories, business and tourism.
Though the scheme has been described as very helpful at bringing foreigners to the country for businesses and tourism, an immigration source in the airport however explained that following due process must be followed by intending foreigners who want to enjoy the seamless services provided by the scheme.
The source explained, Visa is on arrival is not a rocket science scheme. What the federal government has done is to simplify the processes of obtaining a visa to enter Nigeria. This is computer age. You don’t need to go to Nigerian embassy in your country before you procure a visa to visit Nigeria. What any foreigner intending to visit Nigeria for business or tourism needed to do is simply go to the website fill the application for Nigerian visa on arrival, pay the necessary fees and get approval which can only be given by the Comptroller General of Immigrations. Armed with this approval which is gotten within a week, the intending passenger is good to come to Nigeria and only to obtain his or her visa at any of the counters at the arrival hall of any of the gateway airports, on presentation of the required documents.
We at immigration do our homework before we issue the visa to ensure you are not on any criminal or terrorist network or watch list and we ensure that a reputable organisation writes an undertaking that they are responsibility for the invitation.”
On the requirements to get visa on arrival, our investigations further revealed that there must be a letter of invitation from a company seeking approval and taking responsibility, then there is also a business permit letter as well as a certificate of incorporation and most importantly, an airline return ticket.”
“Whoever applies, we look for their approval letter, evidence of payment and passport validity which must not be less than six months. These visas however, usually do not exceed a month.”
The source also explained that a Nigeria woman who travelled out to deliver her baby abroad is also required to procure visa for the baby on arrival in the country with the baby.
Our source explained that, “the NIS gives the child a visa on arrival pending to facilitate her documentations in the country since that child is considered a dual citizen.
On the spate of deportation of Nigerian citizen, she frowned on it but enumerated some challenges the Service face when some of these things happen,” you know, when you are deported. It is a law that your travel documents are relieved of you according to Section 57 of the Immigration Act. Anybody deported for any crime has his/her passport withdrawn. The act states that the passport does not belong to the individual but belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The passport is seized for 2-5years.”
