PMB Launches Nigerian Visa Policy 2020
President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the new Nigerian
Visa Policy (NVP) 2020, which breaks down the country’s visa categories from
six to 79 classes.
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He performed the official presentation at the presidential
villa, Abuja on Tuesday, saying that the initiative is intended to attract
innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local
capacity.
Buhari explained that the implementation of the Nigeria Visa
Policy 2020 will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for
Nigeria by building on the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment
Council.
According to him, the policy will improve the business
environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment and boost tourism without
compromising national security.
A statement issued by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the
President (Media & Publicity) quoted the president as saying: “Earlier in
the course of this Administration, we introduced the Economic Recovery and
Growth Plan (2017-2020) with one of the objectives being to minimize
bottlenecks which impede innovation and market-based solutions for building an
inclusive economy.
“The Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 is intended to attract
innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement locally available
ones.”
The President also noted that the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020
provides an avenue to achieve African integration by the introduction of visas
on arrival for short visits to Nigeria for holders of passports of African
Union countries.
“I, therefore, commend the document to the international
community, foreign and local business entities. We are open for business,’’ he
said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf
Adesoji Aregbesola, said the visa policy took into consideration specific needs
of foreigners who would want to visit the country, without compromising the
security of the country.
The minister said the policy had followed a process that
considered the security, economy and territorial integrity of the country, and
would only be issued after due diligence with other security components of the
country.
“Especially, the new visa policy will be helpful to diaspora
Nigerians by birth who can now use other passports to visit the country because
some countries do not allow dual citizenship,’’ he added.
In a technical presentation, the Comptroller General of the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, said the service had
already put in place a technological hub, called the Migrants Information and
Data Analysis (MIDAS), to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the
issuance of the visa.
Babandede assured that issues of corruption or bribery will
be controlled by the automated system while allaying fears of possible
infiltration of the economy by criminals and terrorists.
He said the new policy has 79 categories, which include
health, education, tourism etc, pointing out that the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Interpol also
made inputs into the system, and would be carried along in the processing
before approvals.