The Federal Government has finalized an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to permit Nigerian passport holders to secure visas for travel to the Arab nation starting, July 15, 2024.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, revealed this when he briefed State House journalists following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
“Following successful talks and extensive, mutually beneficial negotiations between the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, an agreement was reached allowing for the resumption of travel to the UAE for Nigerian passport holders,” he said.
“This agreement includes updated controls and conditions to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa.
“The resumption of visas will be effective from July 15, 2024.”
The minister added that Nigerians wishing to know more about the updated visa conditions from the UAE can visit the country’s website.
The declaration comes more than two years after the UAE suspended visa issuance to Nigerians following a time of extended diplomatic row with Africa’s most populous country.
It likewise comes about two months after UAE national carrier Emirates Airlines reported the resumption of flights to Nigeria. The airline said in May that its daily Lagos-Dubai flights would commence from October 1, 2024.
Emirates Airlines suspended its Dubai-Lagos flights in 2022 over its failure to repatriate trapped assets in Nigeria in the intensity of the diplomatic fireworks between the two nations.
Nigeria and the UAE have a long history of limitation of flights between both nations in view of specific unresolved issues surrounding the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Visa limitations later surfaced as diplomatic fireworks persisted between Nigeria and the UAE, which is a top destination for Nigerian migrants and tourists.
In September 2023, President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, to calm troubled waters in the diplomatic relations between both nations.
