The Nigeria’s government has called for the buy-in of diplomats and other strategic stakeholders on its new one-stop-shop visa platform that will make application seamless and devoid of encumbrances.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who made the appeal during an ASFAAR a visa and tour company’s presentation to the Gulf and Arab Ambassadors.
He said Nigeria is committed to prioritising Identity Verification on Consular Services to bolster its new visa regime which will enhance intergovernmental collaboration in verifying the identities of citizens applying for visas and other consular services abroad through the policy.
According to him, such policies affect Nigerian travellers, hence, there is the need for dependable access to visa applicants’ identity records.
“The Federal Government’s policy, in collaboration with ASFAAR and Council on Biometric Data Verification Policy, is aimed at protecting the integrity of our citizens.
“The policy is in securing the visa application process and facilitating seamless travel, while safeguarding the sovereignty of all involved nations, which enjoys full inter-agency backing.
“The objective is to eliminate identity fraud and ensure that only genuinely vetted Nigerian applicants are issued visas over embassies and high commissions,” he said.
Ambassador Tuggar further said the new policy will also discourage the use of unauthorised third-party agents, who obtain and handle sensitive personal data outside government oversight, posing grave national and international security risks.
Tuggar added that this would enhance mutual accountability by allowing countries with a destination to verify applicants in real time, using Nigeria’s National Identification Number, as the primary reference point.
The minister said the technology was a verified platform operating under the ASFAAR system that was fully compliant with Nigerian data protection laws and global best practices.
He said that it would interface directly with Nigeria’s national identity infrastructure and validate the authenticity of an applicant’s information, encourage missions to work out modalities of assurance and visa refund policies.
“This is not merely a domestic regulation, it is a cooperative tool for mutual benefit. It will help embassies to process legitimate applications faster and reduce risks of visa applications.
“It will not only ensure Nigerians travelling abroad do so responsibly, legally and with dignity, but enhance security for all stakeholders by limiting overstays, trafficking, impersonation and visa abuse,” he said.
The Director, Middle East and Gulf Division, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mahoud Lele, on his part said, the new visa regime will not in anyway subsume the role of relevant security agencies and institutions mandated with visa processes but ease visa processing for Nigerians.
The Chairman, ASFAAR, Dr Jamil Hausawi, said the initiative would strengthen outboard travel management, reinforce visa integrity and enhance bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and friendly countries.
According to him, such is based on cooperative infrastructure created with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support transparency, efficiency and verification of Nigerian travellers going abroad.
“ASFAARI is not meant to replace consular procedures, but to support and enhance them.
“It is to provide secured access to verified applicant data, send real-time alerts and confirm identity use and biometrics,” he said.
He stressed that the U.S. Government officially communicated the new visa rules affecting Nigerian nationals as part of its global visa reciprocity review based on two key concerns.
These, he said, included high rates of visa overstay by Nigerians, and for more dependable access to applicants’ identity records.
He promised that ASFAAR would work in full compliance with Nigerian laws by ensuring that visa applicants data privacy and protection partnered relevant government and diplomatic missions to achieve set targets.
The Lebanon Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Houssam Diab while inquiring if the new ASFAAR policy was solely aimed at Gulf and Arab countries said the visa regime conflicts with the existing lay down rules as such can only work after a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and their countries.
The representative of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Office of the National Security Adviser among other strategic stakeholders expressed reservation on the ASFAAR system which according to them needs careful and tactical implementation in order to avoid a boomerang.
