The United Arab Emirates (UAE) immigration authorities have imposed a visa ban on Nigerians seeking to visit the oil-rich country, noting that all submitted applications will be rejected and fees non-refundable.
The development is the latest in a series of back and forth between the Nigerian authorities and the UAE immigration authorities on visa restrictions and their engagement with Nigerians who wish to visit.
According to reports, the latest development was announced in a notice issued on Friday by Dubai authorities to its trade partners in Nigeria, including travel agencies.
Although no reason was given for the ban, the Dubai authorities declared that all applications were on-hold until issues between the UAE Government and the Nigerian Government are resolved.
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What the UAE Immigration Authorities said
The latest decision by the UAE immigration authorities is bad news for all Nigerians seeking to travel to the UAE. The notice to Nigerian travel agents partly said:
“All Dubai applications submitted are now rejected. It is general for Nigerians and approvals are on hold at the moment. Kindly advise your clients to resubmit C2=A0 applications when the issue is resolved between both governments.’’
This action by the UAE authorities seems to lay credence to allegations of an ongoing rift between Nigeria and the Middle East country, especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Recall that in June 2021, there were reports that immigration authorities of the wealthy Middle East country barred Nigerians from applying for work permits and placed visa restrictions on them.
Nairametrics
