The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has issued clarification on the government’s position on the country’s Visa on Arrival (VOA) process noting that it has not been scrapped but rather being upgraded to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
According to a statement released by the Director General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahrah Audu, the Minister clarified during a meeting in his office on Tuesday.
The PEBEC DG said the meeting was aimed at addressing concerns and clarifying the government’s stance on the VOA initiative.
A simplified process
Audu added that the Minister assured that the visa-on-arrival process is being simplified in line with PEBEC’s efforts to streamline procedures and reduce bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria.
“The Minister further clarified that travellers will still be able to apply online for short-stay visas, with approvals being granted within 24 to 48 hours.
“Once approved, the visa will be sent to the applicant’s email, eliminating the need for a physical sticker upon arrival. This upgrade builds upon the existing online approval system, streamlining the process and enabling travellers to receive their approvals ahead of time,” the PEBEC DG said in the statement.
She added that the enhanced system aims to cut out inefficiencies, allowing Nigeria to better automate and control the inflow of travellers.
“With this upgrade, the country takes another step towards improving its business environment and attracting foreign investment,” she added.
Backstory
Nairametrics last week reported that the Federal Government had announced plans to discontinue its visa-on-arrival policy.
- As part of the reforms, visitors would be required to complete landing and exit cards before entering or leaving Nigeria.
- The Minister of Interior, who disclosed this in Abuja at the closing ceremony of a weeklong capacity-building training for Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) personnel on the application of Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record data in national security and law enforcement.
“The visa system is one of the core because I always tell people the visa is not just an approval of entry, it is a migration management device. It is a security device to manage migration into your country. So the way it is at the moment is very subjective.
“We are not really too objective and that is why we are automating the whole process end-to-end. And the e-visa solution, we are working hard to be able to meet the March 1st or peradventure if we are unable to, April 1st, we will hit it live.
“And of course, that will lead to the cancellation of the visa-on-arrival process because the visa-on-arrival we understand is not a system that works,” the Minister had stated.
Tunji-Ojo also noted that the mandatory landing and exit cards for visitors would be replacing the current manual system.
The new cards, he said, would be integrated with visa and passport systems and linked to global background check systems to enhance data sharing among international agencies.
