- The Nigeria Immigration Service issued 53,644 Visa on Arrival (VoA) to foreigners at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in 2022.
- Two additional VoA offices were added, bringing the total to three, to facilitate seamless travel and reduce waiting time for foreigners.
- The NIS is considering introducing Business Trust Visas to enhance foreign investments in Nigeria and eliminate concerns about fraudulent business partners. Background checks would be conducted in collaboration with security agencies.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA Lagos Command) said it issued 53,644 Visa on Arrival (VoA) to foreigners that passed through the terminal in 2022.
This is because the command has added two additional VoA offices, thereby bringing the total VoA offices to three.
Reason for the high VoA issuance in 2022
Speaking today in Lagos at the MMIA Command during a facility tour and inauguration of new VoA offices in Lagos, the Comptroller-General, NIS, Carol Adepoju, said that the command had continued to enhance its performance in recent times.
According to her, the inauguration of an additional two VoA would ensure seamless travel for foreigners coming into Nigeria. She further explained that the VoA would also facilitate the ease-of-doing business for Nigeria, adding that it would further reduce waiting time for foreigners.
She pointed out that this was in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendation and standards. She said:
- “Before now, we had only one production line of visas, but by the grace of God, through the initiative of the Comptroller at the MMIA Command, they have added two additional lines. By doing so, it is facilitating ease-of-doing business and making them more effective and efficient. The place is also accessible to disabled people and the old ones.”
A new initiative to support investments in Nigeria is underway
Besides, in a bid to enhance foreign investments in the country, Adepoju said that NIS was considering introducing Business Trust Visas to foreigners who are coming into the country for the purpose of investment.
Adepoju stated that the Business Trust Visa would eliminate the fear of fraud among foreigners coming into the country.
She lamented that numerous foreign investors were willing to come into the country for the purpose of investments, but were sceptical about the sincerity of their supposed business partners in the country.
According to her, the Business Trust Visa would eliminate the trust deficit as the service in collaboration with the Department of Security Service (DSS) and other security agencies would carry out in-depth background checks on their business partners in Nigeria. She said:
- “As a result of the prevalence of international crimes, especially the ones that are done online where you have a lot of fictitious business offers, there are so many investors with lots of funds that want to invest in Nigeria because of Nigeria’s population, sophistication and climate. All these are attractive to investors, but some of them are afraid.
- “They do not know the calibre of people they are dealing with. You will need partners sometimes here. So, when we have that Trust Visa, we would partner with security agencies like DSS and other agencies that are entrusted with security in the country. When you give us the contact of whosoever you want to partner with in Nigeria, we will do a background check on such a person and we will let you know if he is a trustworthy person or not.
- “The moment we are able to tell you who he is, we will guarantee you that your investment with him would be a success. It is a way of attracting investors into the country. We will remove the doubt and when there are people of shady characters, too, we will let them know.”
Also, the Comptroller of MMIA Command, Mrs Adeola Adesokan, said the command recorded enhanced performance in the past year, while all aspects of the command had been digitalised.