The Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has revealed the reasons some Nigerians were denied entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite having valid visas.
Recall that a Twitter user, @dunchichi had raised an alarm on social media that they were being detained at the Dubai airport and their passports were seized.
The lady shared a video from the airport which shows Nigerians demanding answers from the Dubai authorities after their passports were seized without explanation.
@dunchichi said her passport was later released through the help of her sister who picked her up from immigration after a “tedious process” but other Nigerians who didn’t have anyone in the country were not released.
Reacting to the video, Abike Dabiri, in a statement on Friday, revealed that the incident happened due to the new stringent visa process in the country.
According to the statement, the UAE government has now 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.
However, to evade the new visa rules, some applicants request “family visas”.
On arrival, some travel alone and arrive without family. So, they are turned back from the airport.
“Also, the UAE authorities demand;
1. Return ticket,
2. Valid 6 monthly Bank Account Statements and
3. A valid Residence Address.
“There have been quite a number of Nigerian passengers turned back from the UAE airport in the last few weeks.”
