The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced tougher entry requirements for Nigerian travellers to Dubai, including a ban on transit visa applications.
This was revealed in a new notification issued to travel agents on Tuesday, July 8, nearly a year after the UAE and Nigeria settled a two-year visa ban previously imposed on Nigerians.
“For Nigerian nationals, please bear in mind that an applicant aged 18 to 45 years travelling alone is not eligible for TOURIST VISA CATEGORY,” it said.
“An applicant who is 45 years or above must provide a single Nigerian personal bank statement for a period of the last six months, with each month’s end balance reflecting a minimum ending balance of USD 10,000 or its naira equivalent. Kindly note that the above points must be taken into consideration before sending your applications with other existing documents such as hotel reservation, data page, etc,” it added.
Agents familiar with the new directive from Dubai Immigration said that transit visa applications would no longer be accepted, following a review of the visa process for Nigerians.
Travel agents familiar with the process said more restrictions would likely be introduced in the coming days.
The new measures are expected to drastically cut the number of Nigerian visitors and further complicate travel plans for Nigerians intending to travel to Dubai, one of the UAE’s top business and tourism hubs.
The ICIR reported that the UAE had banned Nigerians from entering the country due to several diplomatic issues.
In addition, Emirates Airlines of Dubai suspended service to Nigeria due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s inability to transfer an estimated $85 million in earnings to the UAE.
The Emirates Airlines said it decided to reduce the number of its weekly flights from Dubai to Lagos from 11 to seven due to issues of repatriation of its funds.
The Nigerian government declared in the same month that it had paid 98 per cent of the $850 million held.
(ICIR)
