In living up to its promise last year and obvious alignment
with the African Union (AU) directive last year, the Federal Government has
reviewed the visa processes for foreigners who wish to visit Nigeria for
business and tourism purposes, with a view to removing bureaucratic bottlenecks
and encouraging business travellers and tourists, so as to boost the economy,
reports ITRealms.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the measures were part of
the action plan for the ease of doing business as well as efforts to boost tourism,
within the overall context of the Administration's economic diversification
agenda.
''The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has reviewed the
requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer friendly, and
details of this review are available on the NIS official website. Types of visas currently
reviewed include Visa on Arrival (VoA) processes, Business Visas, Tourist Visas
and Transit Visas,'' the Minister said.
Alhaji Mohammed explained that Business Visas are available
for foreign travellers who wish to travel to Nigeria for meetings, conferences,
seminars, contract negotiation, marketing, sales, purchase and distribution of
Nigerian goods, trade fairs, job interviews, training of Nigerians, emergency/relief
work, crew members, staff of NGOs, researchers and musical concerts.
He said Tourist Visas are also available to foreign
travelers who wish to visit Nigeria for the purpose of tourism or to visit
family and friends while Nigeria Visa on Arrival is a class of short visit visa
issued at the port of entry, and it is available to frequently-travelled high-net-worth
investors and intending visitors who may not be able to obtain visa at the
Nigerian Missions/Embassies in their countries of residence due to the absence
of a Nigerian mission in those countries or exigencies of urgent business
travels.
SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi,quoted the Minister as saying that other actions that have been taken by the
NIS for the ease of doing business and facilitation of travelling for Nigerians
and foreigners alike include the harmonization of multiplicity of Airport
Arrival and Departure Form/Cards into a single form for all agencies of
government to save foreign visitors from the current frustrating practice of
filling 3 different forms or more and the decentralization of Immigration
services to the State Commands.
''Re-issuance of passports for change of names due to
marital reasons or lost cases have been decentralized to all State Commands and
Foreign Missions to save passport holders from additional costs and inconvenience
of travelling to the Service Headquarters in Abuja, while additional 28 offices
have been opened for issuance of Residence Permits in Nigeria, bringing the
issuance of Combined Expatriate Residence Permit And Aliens Cards (CERPAC)
closer to the doorstep of employers of expatriates at all 36 states and FCT,''
he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said the measures by NIS fit perfectly into
the 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria that was approved
recently by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), as
well as the Administration's efforts to boost international tourism.
1 comment:
Customer satisfaction is very important for them to provide best to service their customer.
Torrid Customer Satisfaction Survey
Post a Comment