The Nigerian Government has announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted the visa restriction on Nigerian travelers with immediate effect.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Monday at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by President Bola Tinubu.
Idris also disclosed that the UAE embassy had commenced issuance of visa to Nigerians travelling to the country.
Recall that in October 2022, the UAE banned citizens from approximately 20 African nations including Nigeria from entering its borders.
Other countries affected by the restriction include Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, and the Dominican Republic.
The Emirati authorities issued a notice to trade partners and travel agents, instructing them to reject all applications.
Since the ban, the UAE and Nigeria have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute concerning flight allocations and travel restrictions.
President Bola Tinubu had in August 2023 waded into the dispute between the UAE and Nigeria over the issuance of visas as well as the face-off with Emirates Airlines that had made the carrier stop flights into Nigeria.
In June 2024, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed that the face-off between the country and the UAE had been settled.
