Chinedu Eze
For the umpteenth time, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has slammed a visa ban on Nigerians seeking to visit Dubai.
The ban was conveyed in a notice issued to the country’s trade partners in Nigeria, including travel agents.
This is coming weeks after the country tightened visa process to prospective visitors to the country.
In the latest decision which also affects virtually all black African nations, the UAE authorities in the notice said, “all Dubai applications submitted are now rejected,” adding that the rejections will be sent in batches.
Although no reason was given for the ban, the Dubai authorities declared that all applications were on-hold until issues between the UAE government and the Nigerian government were resolved.
The latest decision made by the UAE immigration authorities is for all Nigerians seeking to travel to the UAE.
The UAE government said the rejection notices would be sent in batches to applicants.
“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 applications when the issue is resolved between both governments,” the notice reads.
The development comes over a month after the UAE stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under the age of 40, which affected Nigerians as well as other countries.
A source from Wakanow, who confirmed the ban said, “it is true; it was issued yesterday. The Dubai immigration authorities did not state when the ban would be lifted but for now, everything is on hold.”
THISDAY, however, gathered from a customer representative in Air Peace, that the airline is still flying to Dubai with those who already have a valid visa. The representative added that if any changes were to occur as regards flight for Nigerians, it would be duly communicated, adding that no issue had been raised at the moment.
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.
