Review Visa Regime To Curb Irregular Migration, Immigration CG Tells UK

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isah Idris Jere, has called on the United Kingdom (UK) to review its strict visa regime.

Jere who made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening session of the 2023 Nigeria-United Kingdom Migration, Justice and Home Affairs Bilateral Talks held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posited that the UK’s strict visa regime was fueling irregular migration.

The NIS Comptroller-General thanked the UK for providing various classes of Visas through which Nigerians could travel to the United Kingdom.

“I will end this message with a reminder that stringent regulations surrounding regular migration may inadvertently fuel irregular migration.

“I, therefore appeal to the Government of the UK to relax the present stringent requirements for issuance of the UK Visas so that suitable and eligible Nigerians can migrate safely and regularly to the UK,” the NIS boss said.

He said the revised Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP 2020) is robust enough to make Nigeria an attractive investment destination for British citizens and all other Nationals.

“One of the high points of the new visa policy is the introduction of the Visa on Arrival regime, which is a business visa issued to high net-worth investors upon their arrival in Nigeria.

“In a similar vein, I call upon all to deliberate upon the facilitation of official travels for Government functionaries.

“In my view, such an issue can be easily tackled with the introduction of Visa waiver for holders of Diplomatic and Official passports who are on official assignment.”