African Travelers Will Soon be Able to Enter Nigeria Without a Visa
Speaking at the Aswan Forum in Egypt, President Muhammadu Buhari said that as of January 2020, fellow Africans will instead be issued with visas upon their arrival in Nigeria.
Photo by Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua via Getty
According to Sahara Reporters, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced at the Aswan Forum in Egypt that fellow Africans will no longer require a visa to enter Nigeria.
However, this is not to say that travel to Nigeria will be entirely visa-less. Instead, those in possession of an African passport will be issued a visa upon their arrival in Nigeria.
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President Buhari's announcement comes as part of the country's plans to make travel and tourism much easier and more appealing. Africans wanting to travel to the West African country will soon no longer have to contend with endless paperwork before making their travel plans.
In a recent tweet, President Buhari said that, "Nigeria is committed to supporting the free movement of Africans within Africa." He went on to add that, "Yesterday at the Aswan Forum in Egypt I announced that, in January 2020, we will commence issuance of visas at the point of entry into Nigeria, to all persons holding passports of African countries."
Some of the responses to the announcement have included Nigerians expressing their concern over potentially giving militants and insurgent groups easier access to Nigeria. Additionally, some believe it will only add to the socio-economic issues currently facing the country as it may encourage fellow Africans to stay indefinitely.
Others have welcomed the announcement and spoken about how they hope other African countries will recipricoate Nigeria's decision and allow its citizens to enter without visas.
What does remain unclear at this point is at what stage the visa-upon-arrival policy is. It is reported that earlier this year, a notice appeared on the country's immigration website and indicated that the policy was already in place, or at least already in the works.
