The Nigerian government is adjusting its visa policy to attract foreign direct investment. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said that its decision to introduce the Visa on Arrival (VOA) facility was to attract foreign investments to the nation.
This was made known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by Mr. Abdullahi Dalhatu, the Controller of immigration in charge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), on Friday.
Among many complaints against the ease of doing business in Nigeria, is the difficulty in securing visas for foreign investors.
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Mr. Dalhatu explained that the visa on arrival policy was meant to facilitate easy travels, especially urgent business trips as well as promote international trading activities. He said the newly introduced facility covers African and non – African citizens, who are not members of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS).
“VOA is a class of short visit visa issued at the point of entry and the facility is readily available to the frequently travelled high net worth investor”, he said.
To remove some of the visa bottlenecks, the facility will provide easy access to potential visitors, who may not readily obtain normal visas at the existing Nigerian Missions in their own countries or those on urgent business engagements and travels, he said.
However, the controller said such travelers must apply for the VOA online, through the official website of the NIS. He explains that the facility was not a passport on arrival, as earlier misconstrued by some Nigerians.
Dalhatu said that the application would be processed online and all the criteria have to be met before a pre- approval was granted to an applicant within 48 hours.
“It is the pre-approval slip that the visitor would use to board a flight using his travel passport” he added.
Africans, who are not ECOWAS members, have the privilege of applying for the facility on arrival before or after, he said, adding that non-African citizens, outside ECOWAS must similarly apply online and get pre–approval before they embark on any journey to the country.
“The service has created a ‘Special Desk’ in our office with a view to attend to such visitors on arrival.
“The personnel in charge of the desk are a group of qualified experts from the service who are readily available to attend to such cases”, Dalhatu added
While the move has been applauded, especially as it would facilitate easy integration that will power the success of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), experts believe that Nigeria needs more than an easy visa facility to attract foreign investment.
Areas of major concern are security and infrastructure. The growing spate of killings, kidnapping and lack of basic infrastructure such as electricity and roads, is believed to be the real reasons investors are turning blind eye to Nigeria. Experts say that as long as the situation remains unchanged, FDI inflow into Nigeria will continue to move on snail pace.