The Federal Government has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow Nigerian passport holders to obtain visas for travel to that Arab nation starting today, July 15, 2024.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Monday when he briefed State House correspondents following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
“Following successful talks and extensive, mutually beneficial negotiations between the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Nigerian passport holders as demanded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that applicants pay a sum of N640,000 as non-refundable application fees for visas.
Before the visa ban, the fee was $100. With the current naira to dollar exchange rate (N1,555), in the I & E window, it cost N155,500.
Also part of the requirements to visit UAE with a Nigerian passport is that applicants must obtain a Document Verification Number, (DVN) before applying for visa.
The N640,000 fee does not guarantee a visa to UAE as issued DVN will only be valid for 14 days of issuance or once the visa application has been processed by the visa application department (whichever of these come first).
These are in accordance to the new visa issuance guidelines established by the government of the UAE.
Several Nigerians have taken to their X handle to express their displeasure on the new visa fee.
“This is exploitation and shameful if allowed by Nigeria government, Nigeria government is more interested in making money out of struggling Nigerians and to open doors for themselves said many Nigerians online ,
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