United Arab Emirates (UAE) Immigration authorities have imposed a visa ban on Nigerians and are now rejecting visa applications.
This was conveyed in a notice issued to UAE’s trade partners in Nigeria including travel agencies on Friday.
No reason was given for the visa ban, but UAE Immigration authorities said all applications are on-hold until issues between the United Arab Emirates government and the Nigerian government are resolved.
It says: “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.”
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The development comes over a month after the UAE stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under the age of 40, affecting Nigerians as well as other countries.
Speaking on the issue, the federal government said Nigerians need to respect the immigration laws of other countries to avoid “unwarranted treatment”.
“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 ministry of foreign affairs had said.
“It is, therefore, instructive for prospective visa applicants to indicate clearly their visa preferences without any ambiguity and also respect the immigration laws of other countries to avoid unwarranted treatments.”
For several months in 2021, Nigeria and UAE battled several diplomatic rows in aviation.
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