The Federal Government on Friday announced plans to end visa-on-arrival policy and introduce landing and exit cards as part of security reforms in the country.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during the closing ceremony of a weeklong capacity-building training organised for personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja on Friday.
According to Mr Tunji-Ojo, the decision was made to tighten the country’s borders and ensure that only legitimate travellers enter the country.
The visa-on- arrival policy was introduced in 2020 due to the limited Nigerian embassies worldwide and to provide short stay entry issued at entry points to foreigners from countries where there is no Nigerian embassy.
However, Mr Tunji-Ojo said that the government noticed how foreigners exploit the visa-on-arrival policy by travelling to neighbouring countries by air and complete their journeys through land borders to bypass security checks. He described the policy as a disruption to Nigerian security, noting that it was unacceptable since it made it impossible to accurately identify foreign visitors or their population.
Mr Tunji-Ojo stressed the need for a rigorous screening process because Nigeria cannot serve as a haven for wanted criminals. He added that to address the issues, the federal government planned to introduce a comprehensive solution by March 1 or April 1, to include replacing the visa-on-arrival policy with automated landing and exit cards.
He further said that the automated landing and exit cards would be integrated with global security databases, including Interpol and criminal record systems to ensure only legitimate foreigners could get access to the country.
Mr Tunji-Ojo said, ”The visa-on-arrival issue is one of the core policy issues because I always tell people the visa is not just an approval of entry, it is a migration management device. It is a security device to manage migration into your country. So the way it is at the moment is very subjective. We are not really too objective and that is why we are automating the whole process end-to-end. And the e-visa solution, we are working hard to be able to meet the first of March or peradventure if we are unable, the first of April, we will hit it live.
“We will automate the system. People apply online and we will do what we need to do. That solution will be integrated with the Interpol system, the criminal records system, so that we can be able to make decisions. We do not want foreign attachés approving and issuing visas. It is not going to be that way anymore, we want to be able to screen people more. Nigeria cannot be a destination for wanted criminals in the world. Nigeria is not a haven for any criminal and it will never be. Another thing we are trying to do even for our expatriates is to see how we can integrate these our immigration solutions. What we are doing is to harmonise all these solutions in our data centre, harmonise the database and be able to let the solutions speak to one another rather than having solutions in silos.
“We want to have integrated solutions. So what we are looking at is that, for any decision that borders on immigration into Nigeria, it will be impossible for approvals to be given without the clearance of interpol, criminal records system and all background checking agencies in real time.
“Security is not a sector where you can afford to be 99.9 per cent correct. You just have to be 100 per cent. We believe that it is better for us to take decisions based on objectivity rather than subjectivity. And of course, that will lead to the cancellation of the visa-on-arrival process because the visa-on-arrival we understand is not a system that works, because I don’t expect you to just come into my country without me knowing that you are coming into my country. No, it is never done anywhere and of course, we are also introducing what we call the landing and exit card. We do it now, but it is manual. We are not going to be doing that anymore. This is 2025. This is not 1825. So technology must take its place.”
Mr Tunji- Ojo stated,”A scenario where it is difficult for NIS, on the tip of a finger, to tell me the number of foreigners who are entering into Nigeria is unacceptable. A scenario where somebody comes into Nigeria, disappears and becomes untraceable is unacceptable. A scenario where there is abuse of immigration policies and processes is unacceptable. A scenario where somebody needs to come to Nigeria, stay for six months, waiting to regularise their residency in Nigeria is unacceptable. It is not done anywhere in the world. Why we are trying to do these is to be able to safeguard our people, it’s for us to be responsible in the comity of nations, and for us to be able to contribute our fair quota to international peace.”
Also, the minister assured Nigerians that when the e-solutions were implemented, it would connect with security agencies in Nigeria and around the world, including Interpol which would help identify and catch people wanted by the law, no matter where they were and enhance global security collaboration and cooperation.
