Nigeria and UAE Reach Agreement on Visa Issuance
Nigerian passport holders can now obtain visas for travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting today, July 15, 2024, following a new agreement between the two nations.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, announced this development after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday.
“Following successful negotiations between the UAE and Nigeria, we have agreed to resume travel for Nigerian passport holders,” Idris said. “This agreement includes updated conditions to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa, effective from July 15, 2024.”
Nigerians interested in the updated visa conditions can visit the UAE’s official website for more details.
This announcement ends a more than two-year suspension of visa issuance to Nigerians, which was part of a diplomatic row between the two countries. It also follows Emirates Airlines’ announcement in May that it will resume its daily Lagos-Dubai flights from October 1, 2024. The airline had halted these flights in 2022 due to issues repatriating funds from Nigeria.
Nigeria and the UAE have experienced flight restrictions over unresolved issues related to the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). These restrictions, along with the visa suspension, were significant points of contention in the diplomatic relationship.
In September 2023, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi to improve diplomatic relations, leading to the recent agreement on visa issuance.
