Nigeria to start issuing visas on arrival for all Africans

david nganga

October 14, 2017 6:05 PM

The announcement has been termed as a “laudable move towards Africa’s integration agenda."

Nigeria has decided to start issuing visas on arrival for all Africans in a step it says is aimed at encouraging free movement on the continent.

The announcement was reportedly made by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) Ambassador Bankole Adeoye.

African Union Commission’s Deputy Chairperson Kwesi Quartey has welcomed the announcement terming it as a “laudable move towards Africa’s integration agenda."

“Nigeria kicks off the issuance of visas on arrival to all Africans, laudable move towards Africa’s integration agenda. Thanks you Amb. Bankole Adeoye for the announcement," Quartey wrote in a Facebook post.

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A spokeswoman for the AU chairperson, Ebba Kalondo, however told The Associated Press they were waiting for details from Nigeria as the news was “announced verbally with no formal communication.”

The planned visa-on-arrival for all Africans policy is a laudable step, which signals Nigeria’s commitment to the AU’s recommendations, calling on member states to implement the 30-day visa-on-arrival policy.

The AU has advocated for a “single African passport” that aims to improve intra-African trade and has called for “the abolishment of visa requirements for all African citizens in all African countries by 2018.”

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According to the African Development Bank’s 2017 Africa Visa Openness Report , Africans can get a visa on arrival in just 24 percent of other African countries, while North Americans, for example, have easier travel access on the continent.Ghana, Rwanda, Mauritius and the Seychelles already issue visas on arrival to all African passport holders, the AU’s Quartey has said.

david nganga