The new United Arab Emirates (UAE) visa policy is restricting the number of potential Nigerian applicants to Dubai and other Emirates regions in the Asian continent.
This is as travel agencies in the country said despite the re-opening of the booking portal by Emirates Airlines two weeks ago, just a few air travelers have indicated interest to travel to Dubai and other emirates regions, less than a month to the resumption of scheduled flight services by the airline, reports Daily Independent.
Also it was observed Emirates Airlines sells tickets in dollars on its portal in contravention of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) arrangements the Nigerian government had with the UAE government.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that the minimum airfares on the economy class is $1,030 (N1,648,000) and $4,975 (N7,960,000) on the business class to Dubai.
Further checks revealed that Lagos-London on Emirates costs $1,130 (N1,808,000) and $4,290 (N6,864,000) on economy and business classes, respectively.
The new visa policy of UAE has reduced the number of potential Nigerian travelers to the country.
For instance, a Nigerian passport holder applicant is expected to provide a proof of six months bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000 (about N16 million) in his or her account before applying for a UAE visa.
For Nigerian citizens with either valid United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Schengen visas on their passports, the rule may be a bit liberal on them.
Also, Nigerians with the green passports are mandated to provide round-trip flight tickets and proof of hotel booking before applying for the UAE visa.
Besides, Nigerian applicants are to also obtain a Document Verification Number (DVN), which the UAE said was to authenticate and verify documentation essential for visa applications to the UAE.
Investigation by this paper also revealed that the UAE unveiled different types of visas for Nigerians with diverse fees, ranging from N150,000 to N270,000.
For a transit visa, a Nigerian passport holder is expected to pay the sum of N150,000, tourist visa for 14 days; N200,000, tourist visa for 30 days; N250,000 and tourist visa for 60 days would pay the sum of N270,000.
Speaking on the development, Mr. Olayinka Folami, the President of National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), said that flight bookings to UAE had been low unlike in the past.
As of now, only Emirates Airlines has re-opened its portal for ticket bookings, while Etihad, the national carrier of UAE and Air Peace, the only Nigerian airline flying to UAE are yet to do so.
But, despite this, flight bookings had remained low.
Folami confirmed that Emirates re-opened its booking portal to air travelers about two weeks ago, but confirmed the response had been low.
Folami attributed this to unclear and restrictive visa policy by the UAE government, stressing that just a few Nigerians could meet the conditions as spelt out by the government.
The NANTA president confirmed the requirement of $10,000 bank balance by applicants as one of the requirements for issuance of visa by the UAE, wondering how many Nigerians could afford such an amount of money in their bank accounts.
He said: “Emirates Airlines UAE opened its portal for bookings about two weeks ago, but the response has been low because the visa policy is still not clear and a bit restrictive because of the requirements. As we all know, Nigerians are always itching to go to Dubai.
“The visa policy has slowed down the number of people that would have loved to go to Dubai. Nigerians love Dubai, but a significant number who would have loved to go are excluded. I am positive that it will get better.
“You need to have a visa of either United Kingdom or United States on your passport, you have to have a minimum balance of $10,000 (about N16 million) in your account. That will exclude a lot of people. Even an average person going to Dubai has a problem of having a minimum balance of N16 million in their bank account.”
Also commenting on the new policy, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye, the immediate past President of NANTA, said that the passengers’ response had been low.
She hoped that the UAE government would change its policy soon to encourage more Nigerians to travel to the country.
According to her, the travel agencies had already expressed their displeasure about the stringent measures to the Nigerian government immediately it was unveiled, but said there was little the agencies could do to effect policy change.
“However, the traffic for flight is still very low because the conditions attached are very high. It is not the call of the travelling agencies; it’s a diplomatic issue, but we have laid down our displeasure from day one on the stringent measures for visa.
“People may use Emirates to other destinations like the US, and other routes. But, let’s wait and see, the visa process, which has just started and everyone is still trying to understand the process. However, if the traffic is low, the airline may put a bit of pressure on the government and this may lead to review of the policy,” she said.
She also emphasised that Etihad and Air Peace airlines were yet to re-open their portals for ticket sales, but assured that the latter may do so very soon.
UAE had about two years ago suspended visas for Nigerians following a diplomatic row between the two countries.
The website was re-opened for Nigerian applicants in July 2024 by the UAE government.
Also, about two weeks ago, Emirates re-opened its booking portal for Nigerian travelers in preparation of commencement of scheduled operations from its base in Dubai to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on October 1, 2024.
The airline had about two years ago shut down its booking portal against Nigerians following its trapped ticket sales fund, amounting to $85 million.
The backlog of the fund, alongside other airlines, was cleared earlier in the year by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after a series of meetings with the Nigerian government.
