by Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's New Visa Policy 2020 (NVP 2020) launched on Tuesday will improve the business environment, attract foreign direct investment and boost tourism without compromising national security, said the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari said, among other things, the new policy is intended to attract innovation, specialized skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity.
"The implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for Nigeria by building on the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council," the president said.
This enhanced visa policy by Nigeria, one of Africa's key economies, comes on the back of the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, a treaty seeking to establish a continent-wide marketplace with increased trade and freer movement among its economic powers.
The NVP 2020 features visa-on-arrival for African Union nationals, increase in the classes of visas from six to 79, creation of visa codes for all classes of visa and introduction of e-visas. The 79 visa categories include health, education, tourism, among others.
"I, therefore, commend the document to the international community, foreign and local business entities. We are open for business," Buhari said.
Minister of interior Rauf Aregbesola said the visa policy took into consideration the specific needs of foreigners who would want to visit the country, without compromising the security of the country.
According to Aregbesola, the policy had followed a process that considered the security, economy and territorial integrity of the country, and would only be issued after due diligence with other national security components.
"Especially, the new visa policy will be helpful to diaspora Nigerians by birth who can now use other passports to visit the country because some countries do not allow dual citizenship," he noted.
In a technical presentation, the comptroller general of the Nigeria Immigration Service Muhammad Babandede said the service had already put in place a technological hub, called the Migrants Information and Data Analysis (MIDAS), to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the issuance of the visa.
Babandede assured that issues of corruption or bribery will be controlled by the automated system while allaying fears of possible infiltration of the economy by criminals and terrorists.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, as well as the National Intelligence Agency and the Interpol also made inputs into the system and would be carried along in the processing before approvals, the immigration chief added. Enditem
