Nigeria reviews visa processes to facilitate tourism, trade

Nigeria has reviewed the visa processes for foreigners who wish to visit the country for business and tourism purposes, an official said Sunday.

The move is to remove bureaucratic bottleneck and encourage business travelers and tourists, thus giving a boost to the economy, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said in a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos.

It was part of the action plan for the ease of doing business as well as efforts to boost tourism, within the overall context of the government's economic diversification agenda, he said.

According to him, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has reviewed the requirements for Nigerian visas to make them more customer friendly.

Types of visas currently reviewed include Visa on Arrival (VoA) processes, Business Visas, Tourist Visas and Transit Visas, the minister said.

Mohammed said the measures by NIS fit perfectly into the 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria that was approved recently by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), as well as the government's efforts to boost international tourism.

Source: Xinhua