Economy
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja inaugurated the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 (NVP 2020) meant to improve the business environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment and boost the nation’s tourism without compromising national security.
Speaking at the inauguration, President Buhari said the policy document was also meant to complement the Federal Government efforts towards protecting national identity and the defence of the nation sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He maintained that the NVP 2020 was also intended to attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement locally available ones.
“I am confident that 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 policy is expected to improve the business environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment and boost tourism without compromising national security.
According to the president, the NVP 2020 provides an avenue to achieve African integration by the introduction of visas on arrival for short visits to Nigeria for holders of passports of African Union countries.
He, therefore, recommended the document to the international community, foreign and local business entities, saying “we are open for business’’.
Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, stated that the operation of the NVP 2020 was cardinal to the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.
He expressed the hope that new visa regime would boost economic activities in the areas of tourism, aviation, entertainment, commerce and other areas where Nigeria has comparative advantage over other African countries.
According to him, the NVP 2020 also presents Nigeria with the opportunity to apply the principle of reciprocity with her visa policy in the nation’s bilateral and multilateral relations.
”The NVP 2020 introduces special visas for Nigerians in diaspora who either by birth, marriage or nationalisation have assumed dual citizenship.
“Such category of Nigerians will now be able to make use of the passports of their adopted countries to visit Nigeria without the need for short stay visa”, he said.
The Minister expressed the commitment of his Ministry to the implementation of the NPV 2020 in view of its supervisory role on the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
He assured that the NIS would adhere to the published conditions of issuance of visas in a professional, timely and transparent manner.
He assured that NIS would invest heavily in the training of the officers and men that would be charged with the responsibility of processing visas in all our visa issuing centers and passport control at our points of entry.
The Minister emphasized that NIS would also work with all stakeholders within and outside Nigeria to ensure that “the policy is not abused and the security of Nigeria and indeed other countries is not compromised.
“The implementation of the NVP 2020 will not compromise national security as adequate control measures have been provided both before and after entry into Nigeria,’’ he added.
Aregbesola observed that the implementation of the NVP 2020 would require collaboration with several MDAs involved in diplomacy, trade, investment, education, tourism, manufacturing, monetary policies, security, intelligence and many more.
While encouraging Nigerians in Diaspora to respect the provisions of the immigration laws of their new countries as well as those of Nigeria, the minister congratulated the NIS for the landmark policy.
He, therefore, invited all prospective visitors, investors and residents to a new and refreshing experience in Nigeria and with Nigeria Immigration Service.
Some of the features of NVP 2020 include, Visa On Arrival for African Union nationals, increase in the classes of visas from 6 to 79, creation of visa codes for all classes of visa and introduction of e-visas.
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 would be controlled by the automated system, while allaying fears of possible infiltration of the economy by criminals and terrorists.
According to him, the new policy has 79 categories, which include health, education, tourism etc.
He explained that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Interpol also made inputs into the system, and would be carried along in the processing before approvals.
NAN
– Feb. 4, 2020 @ 15:25 GMT |
Tags: boost tourism – Buhari NVP 2020 to attract Foreign Direct Investment
