FG To Revoke Visas Of Foreigners Without COVID-19 Certificate

The federal government on Tuesday warned that foreigners without valid COVID-19 test certificates on arrival in Nigeria will have their visas revoked.

The warning was given by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, when speaking at the weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He disclosed that Nigeria’s Immigration Act gives him the power to revoke visas and confiscate passports of offenders.

The Immigration boss stated that the 100 travellers under a travel ban for flouting the mandatory seven-day post-arrival COVID-19 test can not obtain fresh passports or compromise the NIS officers.

Babandede stated, “The public health is a big issue in the country and based on that directives, we have complied by blocking 100 passports from travelling, which means, even if they go to the police and declare those passports missing, they cannot be reissued anywhere in the world and they cannot cross our national borders until the period of six months or communication received from the right authorities stating that they have complied.

“This will also include non-Nigerians; we have the powers to revoke visas, the comptroller-general has the power to revoke visas.”

Speaking further, Babanded pointed out that failure to comply with COVID-19 regulations was a threat to public health, vowing to make sure every visitor to Nigeria provides their test result.

“Please comply, immigration has no business with anybody, we are implementing the directives handed down to us. You must have evidence of payment.

“If you do the test, it means you have complied, if you have not done the test, it means you have violated the condition of entering the country; your visa will be revoked,” he said.