The Federal Government Of Nigeria has urged Nigerians wishing to travel to United Arab Emirates (UAE) to acquaint themselves of the new visa regime to avoid been embarrassed.
A statement signed by Francisca Omayuli, Foreign Affairs ministry’s spokesperson, observed that the UAE government had stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under 40 years.
The Federal Government issued the advice following a viral video of some Nigerians who were stranded in UAE, where they were denied entry at the point of arrival.
According to the statement, prospective visa applicants were now to indicate clearly their visa preferences.
The statement reads: “The attention of the federal government has been drawn to a video on social media showing purported stranded Nigerians who arrived the airport in Dubai, UAE on 29th August 2022 but were denied entry into the country despite having valid visas.
“The Nigerian mission in Dubai has clarified that most of the supposedly stranded Nigerians were issued with family visas only to arrive Dubai alone without any family member.
Consequently, they were denied entry and advised to return to their country and apply for the appropriate visa.
“However, those persons allowed entry into the country have their family members in the UAE, while those who claimed their family members were on another flight were told to wait at the airport pending their arrival.
“The general public is invited to note and be guided that the government of 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.
“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 so as to avoid unwarranted treatments.”
Also, in a post made on Instagram yesterday morning, the CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri, also said the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would deny entry visas to Nigerians younger than the age of 40.
She made reference to a warning she had earlier issued that some Nigerians giving the country a bad name in the Arab country.
Dabiri wrote in the said post: “Recall the recent warning issued a while ago.
“The UAE government has now 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.
“However, to evade the new visa rules, some applicants request ‘family visas’.
“However, on arrival some travel alone and arrive without family.”
