Visa restrictions: Nigeria must put its house in order
Nigerians, in recent months, have become targets of visa restrictions from traditionally friendly countries. Beginning in May 2025, the United Kingdom isolated Nigeria as a high-risk country, among three countries, for tougher visa restrictions due to high rates of visa overstays and asylum applications. The other countries affected include Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The UK […]
Nigerians, in recent months, have become targets of visa restrictions from traditionally friendly countries. Beginning in May 2025, the United Kingdom isolated Nigeria as a high-risk country, among three countries, for tougher visa restrictions due to high rates of visa overstays and asylum applications. The other countries affected include Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The UK Home Office had said it would restrict issuance of students and employment visas to Nigerians because of our nationals who arrived on student or work visas later sought asylum as a means to remain in the country permanently.
It said, “To tackle abuse by foreign nationals who arrive on work and study visas and go on to claim asylum, we are building intelligence on the profile of these individuals to identify them earlier and faster. We keep the visa system under constant review,” the Home Office noted. “Where we detect trends that may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action.”
On July 8, the United States rolled out new visa restrictions targeted at Nigerian applicants. The US, as against its practice of issuing five-year multiple-entry visas to Nigerians, came up with a policy that “most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.” It attributed the measure, first to what it termed “visa reciprocity”, but came up with three other unexplained criteria: “Secure Travel Documents: ensuring countries issue secure travel documents with verified traveller identities; visa overstay management: implementing measures to limit overstays by travellers on U.S. visas; and information sharing: sharing relevant security and/or criminal record information to protect public safety.” In a nutshell, the US Mission in Nigeria raised concerns about the integrity of travel documents paraded by Nigerians who visit the US; Nigerians who overstay in the US beyond the limit of the visas issued to them; and some who may have exhibited criminal tendencies.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which had previously suspended the issuance of visas to Nigerians for almost two years, from October 2022 to July 2024, imposed new visa restrictions on Nigerian travellers in July 2025. The policy points to the assumption that Nigerians who travelled to the UAE abused the terms and conditions of the visas issued to them, and some may have engaged in criminal activities. The oil-rich country has cancelled transit visas for Nigerians; prohibited the issuance of tourist visas for Nigerians within the age range of 18 and 35; while tourist visa applicants who are 45 years and above must provide evidence of bank balances of the equivalent of $10,000, over six months.
The policies rolled out by these countries are a big blow to thousands of honest Nigerians who engage in legitimate travels to these countries for educational, business, health, tourism and other purposes. It is a fact that few Nigerian youths, desperate to escape the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria, may abuse the rules governing the visas issued to them by the embassies of these friendly countries. However, these undesirable elements may not be very large in number. The majority of Nigerians who apply for these visas have genuine reasons for seeking to travel abroad. Many of them keep to the terms of their visas. It is, therefore, unfortunate that these foreign countries have imposed heavy restrictions on all Nigerian visa applicants on account of abuses by a few dishonest persons.
We call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the federal government to take steps to engage these countries in a review of the harsh visa policies. The United States, especially, has alluded to the possibility of a review of the policy. In its statement, the diplomatic mission stated that: “The United States values its longstanding relationship with Nigeria and remains committed to expanding our partnership based on mutual respect, shared security priorities, and economic opportunity, keeping both our countries safer and stronger. We commend the ongoing efforts by the Government of Nigeria’s immigration and security agencies to meet standards of international best practices. We continue to engage with Nigerian government officials to address the remaining challenges.” It follows that the ball is in the court of Nigeria’s diplomats to find out remedial measures that will restore the status quo ante that Nigerian visa applicants had enjoyed before the new restrictions.
It is, however, imperative for the government to look inward. The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) must improve the screening processes involved in the issuance of travel documents. We must reduce corruption at the agency to the barest minimum to ensure that Nigerians who could tarnish the image of Nigeria are not issued with international passports. The NIS must engage in enhanced identity verification and documentation to meet global standards. The government must launch campaigns to prepare Nigerians for life abroad, including cultural norms and legal rights. They must be made conversant with the standard rules for living and operating in other countries. The discriminatory visa policies being imposed against Nigerians must be tackled without delay.