President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has officially presented to the public the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) for the year 2020. The presentation of the document, which is a revised version, was made at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday.
President Buhari disclosed that the review of the visa policy is intended to attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local ones. Adding that, the 2020 visa policy is to enhance business opportunities and achieve African integration through the visas on arrival for holders of passports of African Union countries.
The revised policy which has seventy-nine (79) visa classifications, one of which is the Visa on arrival is a sequel to the President’s pronouncements back in November 2019 that a new policy of visas on arrival would be granted to all African travellers starting from January 2020.
Africans with valid passports who wish to come into Nigeria for short visits, business or tourism benefit from the new policy as the visa grants them legal stay for up to ninety (90) days.
Prior to this new policy, Nigeria had only one class of visa (Business) which covered everyone: students, journalists, artists, etc. Specific visa categories have been created now while the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has promised more efficient processing.
