ICYMI: UAE refutes claims of a $10,000 bank balance and N640,000 fee for Nigerian visa applicants. Get the facts here.
According to The Cable, the assertion that Nigerians seeking visas to enter the United Arab Emirates must have a bank balance of $10,000 and pay N640,000 has been refuted by UAE authorities.
On Monday, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation declared that Nigerians will no longer face travel restrictions imposed by UAE authorities following their agreement to lift them.
Idris disclosed that meeting certain requirements is necessary for applicants, one of which involves acquiring a document verification number through the website documentverificationhub.ae.
As per the website, each application’s verification cost is N640,000 excluding VAT which is non-refundable. The visa fee is not incorporated in this amount.
In addition, a bank statement spanning six months indicating a minimum balance of $10,000 must be furnished by applicants.
Air travellers denounced this development, labelling the requirements as a “constructive ban”.
The DV hub website is not linked to the UAE government, as confirmed by TheCable’s investigation into the matter with inquiries made to their Department of Economy and Tourism.
Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs should be contacted for document verification inquiries, as per the department’s notification.
Meanwhile, according to the GDRFAD, in order to apply for a visa one must provide a personal photograph and have a passport that is valid for at least six months. The cost of obtaining a tourist visa ranges from 200-300 dirhams (equivalent to N60,000 – N90,000), depending on the duration of stay.
A travel ticket and valid medical insurance for the UAE are also required by applicants.
GDRFAD stated that they were not aware of any $10,000 bank balance requirement and advised to complete visa applications through them.
Eche Abu-Obe, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that they will obtain additional information from their office in the Middle East to provide more details on the issue.
As a reminder, just two years ago the UAE enforced a visa restriction on Nigeria as a result of several diplomatic clashes.
Further, Emirates Airline of Dubai suspended its flights to Nigeria as the United Arab Emirates failed to receive expected revenue amounting around $85 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Federal Government reassured Nigerians in June that the visa ban would be lifted soon after holding multiple meetings with the UAE government.
In the identical month, it was announced by the Nigerian government that 98% of $850 million had been paid.
