From first of August, anybody that does not take advantage of the amnesty period of three months, penalty will come
A new strategy that targets visa overstayers has been revealed by the federal government. As part of the comprehensive immigration changes, the policy would introduce tough penalties, such as daily fines and bans on re-entry.
Updates to the Nigeria Visa Policy 2025 and laws regarding expatriate quotas were the primary topics of discussion during the meeting that took place on Friday, April 11, at NECA House in Lagos. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, presented the measures to the stakeholders.
Foreigners who overstay their visas will be subject to a daily fine of $15 after the new regulations go into effect in May of 2025.
The enforcement, on the other hand, will start in August, after a grace period of three months that is meant to provide overstayers the opportunity to regularize their status or make travel arrangements that are necessary.
Tunji Ojo said, “From first of August, anybody that does not take advantage of the amnesty period of three months, penalty will come.
“But if you take advantage of that window to regularise, we will not charge you. Because the whole idea is not to punish you, the whole idea is for us to regularise.
“From first of August, if you overstay, it’s $15 per day and if you have stayed more than three months, five years, abeg we don’t need violators in Nigeria.
“And if you have stayed more than one year without coming forward during the amnesty period, abeg don’t come to Nigeria again for life.
“We are automating it end to end. Because as it is today, the procedure is that you have to go to buy a form. When you buy a form, you pay at the bank, and take the form to CERPAC centre. There’s no country in the world that does that.”
Warning that the new system will be linked with worldwide security databases like Interpol, he emphasized that applicants with criminal backgrounds should not apply.
Tunji-Ojo stressed that the changes will clean up the immigration system and bring Nigeria’s rules in line with global norms.