The Federal Government has struck a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) permitting Nigerian passport holders to get visas for travel to the UAE starting today, July 15, 2024.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, announced this on Monday when he briefed State House correspondents following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
“After successful discussions and extensive, mutually beneficial negotiations between the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria, an agreement was reached to resume travel to the UAE for Nigerian passport holders,” he stated.
“This deal includes new controls and conditions to facilitate getting a UAE visa.
“The starting of visas will be effective from July 15, 2024.”
The minister informed that Nigerians interested in the new UAE visa conditions can find more information on the country’s website.
The statement follows over two years after the UAE halted visa issuance to Nigerians due to a prolonged diplomatic dispute with Africa’s most populous country.
It also follows approximately two months after Emirates Airlines, the national carrier of the UAE, the restart of flights to Nigeria. In May, the airline announced that daily flights between Lagos and Dubai would recommence on October 1, 2024.
Emirates Airlines suspended its flights from Dubai to Lagos in 2022 due to challenges in repatriating funds trapped in Nigeria during the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Nigeria and the UAE have a long history of limiting flights between them due to unresolved issues related to the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Visa restrictions emerged later as diplomatic tensions persisted between Nigeria and the UAE, a popular destination for Nigerian migrants and tourists.
Last year September 2023, President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, to smoothen the rough edges in the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
