Following the lifting of the visa ban on Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates Government has increased its visa fee by over 300 per cent, which has been condemned by air travellers in the country.
Expressing anger over the development, a traveller at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Rose Aikigbe, said “This is a clear indication that the UAE government doesn’t want Nigeria in their domain. How much is the United Kingdom taking? Why is the amount so out of reach?
“I think the Nigerian government needs to do more engagement with the government of the United Arab Emirates, please let them do something to this hike.”
Also, a father of three, Adejare Adebukola, who claimed to have two children willing to study in Dubai, begged the government to act on the hike to save his children’s dream.
“If the government refuses to do something about this hike and the UAE government also remains adamant, I am sorry my children whose dreams are to study in Dubai will have to have a change of thought.”
On X, MAYOR @Enokeran2016 said, “You think FG constant solicitation was for mere Nigerians? The constant appeal from the Nigerian government to lift travel bans to the UAE appears to primarily benefit wealthy individuals and politicians seeking a haven for their ill-gotten wealth, rather than ordinary Nigerians.”
NEFERTITI with X handle @firstladyship stated, “It is obvious the UAE don’t want Nigerians. They reluctantly unbanned the Nigerian passport but slammed a hefty N640,000 on Nigerians.
“Guess what? The money is nonrefundable & has an expiration date. This is see finish.”
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the lifting of the ban while briefing the State House correspondents on Monday after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
Idris said the Federal Government and the UAE authorities had reached an agreement vacating travel restrictions imposed on Nigerians with immediate effect.
The minister revealed that Nigerian passport holders can now travel to the UAE without any form of hindrance. He also asked Nigerians seeking information on the updated UAE visa conditions can visit documentverificationhub.ae for further details.
He said, “I can tell you that the agreement has been reached and effective from today (Monday), Nigerian passport holders intending to travel to the UAE are able to do so.”
Our correspondent observed on the United Arab Emirates document verification website
that applicants were required to pay N640,000 as non-refundable application fees for visas.
Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that before the visa ban, the fee was $100, amounting to N155,500, using the currency exchange of N1,555/$.
The hike of the visa fee to N484,500 indicates a 311.58 per cent rise.
The N640,000 fee does not guarantee a visa to UAE as the issued Document Verification Number will only be valid for 14 days of issuance or once the visa application has been processed by the visa application department.
It will be recalled that the UAE imposed the visa ban on Nigeria in connection with several diplomatic disputes.
Additionally, Dubai’s Emirates Airline halted flights to Nigeria because the Central Bank of Nigeria couldn’t remit an estimated $85 million in revenue to the UAE.
In June, following several meetings with the UAE government, the Federal Government assured Nigerians that the visa ban would soon be lifted. During the same month, the Nigerian government announced that it had paid 98 per cent of $850m.