The Federal Government has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow Nigerian passport holders to obtain visas for travel to that Arab nation starting on Monday (today).
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Monday when he briefed State House correspondents following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
“Following successful talks and extensive, mutually beneficial negotiations between the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, an agreement was reached allowing for the resumption of travel to the UAE for Nigerian passport holders,” he said.
“This agreement includes updated controls and conditions to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa.
“The resumption of visas will be effective from July 15, 2024.”
The minister added that Nigerians wishing to learn more about the updated visa conditions from the UAE can visit the country’s website.
The announcement comes more than two years after the UAE suspended visa issuance to Nigerians following a period of protracted diplomatic row with Africa’s most populous nation.
It also comes about two months after UAE national carrier Emirates Airlines announced the resumption of flights to Nigeria. The airline said in May that its daily Lagos-Dubai flights would resume from October 1, 2024.
Emirates Airlines suspended its Dubai-Lagos flights in 2022 over its inability to repatriate trapped funds in Nigeria in the heat of the diplomatic fireworks between the two countries.
Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have a long history of restriction of flights between both countries based on certain unresolved issues surrounding the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Visa restrictions later surfaced as diplomatic fireworks continued between Nigeria and the UAE, which is a top destination for Nigerian migrants and tourists.
In September 2023, President Bola Tinubu met with United Arab Emirates President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, to smoothen the rough edges in the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
