As part of its ongoing visa reform, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is set to introduce various categories of visas for the country as part of its visa reform.
Speaking in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin, the Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI), Mohammad Babandede disclosed that the visa categories being considered were visa for tourists, visa for retirees outside the country who wish to retire in Nigeria and visa for incentive/investors.
He said, “If you have money, genuine money, we are encouraging visitors who have intellectual capacity to assist in building capacity in Nigeria.
“If the visa is not going to break national security, good economy, we would encourage it to be delivered in a transparent way to cut corruption.
“We will ensure that Nigerians realise that there is reform based on the anti-corruption strategy of Mr President.”
Further speaking, Mr Babandede said that the current “Operation Swift Response” under the supervision of the office of the National Security Adviser was intended to tackle border insecurity.
He said that the present borders’ closure has helped Nigeria to curtail not just the people who enter, but also Nigerians who take the bush paths to travel without passports.
He disclosed that a month ago, the NIS records showed that not fewer than 11,000 persons have been prevented from travelling out through illegal means.
The CGI added that the service also deported persons who were not supposed to be in the country.
