The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted a 21-month visa ban on Nigerians following “mutually beneficial negotiations” between the two governments, according to Nigeria‘s Information Minister Mohammed Idris. The ban, in place since October 2022, has been replaced with updated controls and conditions for prospective Nigerian visitors to the UAE.
Under the new system, travelers must submit documents proving their identity and travel history to generate a verification number, which they will use to apply for a visa. Applicants 13 years or younger are exempt from this requirement, according to an Emirati government website.
Background of the Ban
The UAE initially imposed the ban due to allegations of improper conduct and attempts to circumvent visa rules. The situation escalated when the Nigerian government reduced Emirates Airlines’s flights to Nigeria from 21 times a week to just once, in retaliation for the UAE’s refusal to allow Nigerian airliner Air Peace to fly thrice a week to Dubai, approving only one weekly flight.
In late 2022, Emirates suspended its flight operations to Nigeria, citing an inability to repatriate tens of millions of dollars in earnings from the country. However, upon taking office in May 2023, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu began meeting with authorities, including Emirati president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to resolve the impasse.
The lifting of the ban follows Emirates’s announcement in May that it would resume daily flights between Lagos and Dubai later this year in October. The resumption of service will offer “more than 300 tonnes” of weekly cargo capacity in its passenger aircrafts’ lower deck in and out of Lagos, according to Adnan Kazim, deputy president and chief commercial officer for Emirates.
The resolution of the visa ban and the restoration of flight operations between Nigeria and the UAE signify a positive step in the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The updated controls and conditions for Nigerian visitors to the UAE aim to address the concerns that led to the initial ban while facilitating travel and trade between the two nations.
