Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement warning Nigerians intending to travel to the United Arab Emirate to be guided by that country's new visa regime.
“The general public is invited to note and be guided that the Government of the UAE has introduced a new visa regime and has stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under the age of 40 years, except for those applying for family visas," the statement read.
This is coming after a video was circulated online showing Nigerians, who had arrived the airport in Dubai, being denied entry into the country despite having their visas.
“The attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been drawn to a video on the social media, showing purportedly stranded Nigerians who arrived the airport in Dubai, UAE on 29th August 2022, but were denied entry into the country despite having valid visas.”
The statement explained that many of the Nigerians stranded in UAE did not follow the new visa rules of the country.
“Nigerian Mission in Dubai has clarified that most of the supposedly stranded Nigerians were issued with family visas, only to arrive Dubai alone without any family member.
“Consequently, they were denied entry and advised to return to their country and apply for the appropriate visas.
"However, those persons allowed entry into the country have their family members in the UAE, while those who claimed their family members were on another flight, were told to wait at the airport, pending their arrival.”
The foreign ministry noted that it was “instructive for prospective visa applicants to indicate clearly their visa preferences without any ambiguity and also respect the immigration laws of other countries so as to avoid unwarranted treatments.”
