…UAE Stops Transit Visa For Nigerians LAGOS – Travel experts in Nigeria have said that the new United States (U.S.) visa policy, which restricted Nigerians to single en-try and three months only, among others, was a reciprocity gesture by the U.S Gov-ernment. The experts, however, decried the new visa policy unveiled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying that it would further restrict the number of Nigerians travelling to the Asian country. On Tuesday the U.S Mission in Nigeria, updated its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians. According to the mission, effective on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, most non-immi-grant and non-official visas for Nigerian citizens would be single entry with only three months validity. With this new policy, apart from immigrants and the Nigerian Government officials, no Nigerian passport holder would henceforth be issued multiple visa entries. The U.S. Government however said that visas issued before July 8, 2025 remained unchanged. The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, said that the new policy was “rec-iprocity.” For the UAE, its government banned transit visas for Nigerians. The UAE Government commu-nicated this new directive to travel agencies on Tuesday, investigation revealed. According to the government, Nigerian applicants aged 18 to 45 years travelling alone was not eligi-ble for tourism visa category, while an applicant who is 45 years and above must provide a single Nige-rian personal bank statement for a period of six months, with each month’s end balance reflecting a minimum of $10,000 or its naira equivalent. The new visa policies by the two countries are expected to reduce traffic from Nigeria to the two desti-nations for businesses and tourism. Commenting on the issue, Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, Chief executive Officer (CEO), Travel Lab Ltd, ex-pressed delight with the new U.S. visa policy on Nigeria. She stated that the new U.S. policy would compel the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to up its visa policies to the U.S. and oth-er countries, hoping that Nigeria would learn the consequences of its action. According to her, U.S. citizens coming into Nigeria are currently charged $160 for a three-month visa and single-entry visa-on-arrival. Asuquo expressed that this had been ongoing for several years in Nigeria despite the complaints of countries against the policy. She said, “I am very happy this has finally happened. What is hap-pening now is simply reciprocity, the same principle Nigeria used years ago when it imposed visas on the United Kingdom citizens, and the UK responded in kind. “Ikechi Uko, travel ambassador and Mrs. Lola Ade-John, the im-mediate past Minister of Tourism fought tooth and nail for Nigeria immigration to review our immi-gration policies. They warned then that Nigerians will pay dearly if it’s not done. “I have seen Nigerians say all manner of things against the U.S. We all know it’s a matter of time and that the current administration of Mr. Donald Trump will take advan-tage of it. Before we continue with the dragging of the U.S. Govern-ment over visa issues, let’s under-stand how visa reciprocity actually works because this is not just about America being difficult. “Numerous countries had complained about it. For instance, a CNN reporter was charged $289 each time he made a trip to Nigeria and in 2023 he made four trips in three months. Also, Nigeria recently added a $170 biometric fee for other nationalities, but the U.S. passport holders are exempted from this additional charge due to a mutual agreement. Countries treat each other based on how their citizens are treated. It’s not personal, it’s a policy.” In his comment, Mr. Ikechi Uko, travel ambassador, said that the U.S. visa change for Nigerians was a good development. Uko further queried Nigeria’s visa policy, wondering how easy it is for foreigners to access Nigeria, charges imposed on them, type and duration of visas issued to them. He, however, pointed out that this may compel the Nigerian Gov-ernment to “work on its outdated visa policy.” Uko insisted that visa approval was on reciprocity, lamenting that Nigeria only reciprocates on visa fees, not on access or duration. He added, “The last time, Trump got us to drop our extra visa fees. This time, he has hit us harder. Now, a three-month visa will make Nigeria sit up. “Our visa policy is not modern. Multiple entry visas, long-term visas and airport visa-on-arrival to coun-tries that offer Nigeria the same. “Ghana secures a no visa agree-ment with Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa and now Morocco. We need to do better. Morocco, Kenya and Qatar have reformed recently to receive more visitors. “Sometimes, we start these things and forget that other coun-tries will mirror our policies. It’s not about pride, it’s international standard.” Mr. Yinka Folami, the President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), said that the new U.S. visa policy was in reaction to Nigeria’s visa policy. He, however, stated that the new policy would affect travels to the two countries, but expressed optimism that travellers would make adjust-ments in the future. According to him, the recent stringent visa policy introduced against Nigeria, opened new vistas for tourists from the country. He said, “There is no doubt, the new visa policies by the U.S. and the UAE would negatively impact on travelers out of Nigeria, but trust Nigerians, they will make adjustments. Also, Mr. Gbemi Akinboro, the Managing Director, Scribes Glob-al Services, said that the U.S. and UAE visa restrictions would lead to reduced applicants from Nigeria to the two countries. Akingboro explained that most Nigerians with tourism visas to the two countries seldom comply with the terms and conditions attached to their visas. The Scribe Global Services boss, said that the essence of the new policies was to make it stricter for Nigerian travellers to access the two countries. He added, “The new U.S. visa policy is a way by Trump to reduce the number of Nigerians travelling to that country. Visa issuance should be reciprocity. Nigeria, like any oth-er country, is a sovereign state.” This is the second time in 10 months that the UAE Government would be reviewing its visa policy against Nigeria. The first review occurred in Sep-tember 2024. In the 2024 review, a Nigerian passport holder applicant was to provide a proof of six months bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000 (about N16 million) in his or her account before applying for a UAE visa. For Nigerian citizens with either valid United States, United King-dom, Canada and Schengen visas on their passports, the rule was a bit liberal on them. Also, Nigerians with the green passports were mandated to provide round-trip flight tickets and proof of hotel booking before applying for the UAE visa. Besides, Nigerian applicants were to also obtain a Document Ver-ification Number (DVN), which the UAE said was to authenticate and verify documentation essential for visa applications to the UAE. The UAE also unveiled different types of visas for Nigerians with di-verse fees, ranging from N150,000 to N270,000. For a transit visa, a Nigerian passport holder was expected to pay the sum of N150,000, tourist visa for 14 days; N200,000, tourist visa for 30 days; N250,000 and tourist visa for 60 days, N270,000.