“It is therefore instructive for prospective visa applicants to indicate clearly their visa preferences without any ambiguity and also respect the immigration laws of other countries so as to avoid unwarranted treatments,” a statement signed by Francisca Omayuli for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following another video on social media showing Nigerians who arrived in the UAE but were not let into the country, the Nigerian government has advised Nigerians going to the UAE to be honest with visa applications.
“It is therefore instructive for prospective visa applicants to indicate clearly their visa preferences without any ambiguity and also respect the immigration laws of other countries so as to avoid unwarranted treatments,” Francisca Omayuli of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A 42 seconds video that emerged on Twitter on Wednesday showed some Nigerians in an office, believed to be at the UAE airport. They were protesting the refusal of the airport authorities to allow them into the country.
“We have human rights; if I tell the United Nations about this thing, it doesn’t make sense. I got my visa; I used my money to buy a ticket; I came to visit,” one of them said.
The UAE official was unimpressed and asked them to go outside and be sent back to Nigeria.
According to the Nigerian government’s statement, the Nigerian Mission in Dubai clarified that most of the Nigerians involved were issued family visas, only to arrive Dubai alone without any family member.
“Consequently, they were denied entry and advised to return to their country and apply for the appropriate visas.”
However, persons who applied for the same visa and arrived with their families were allowed into the country. While those who claimed their family members were on another flight, were told to wait at the airport, pending their arrival, the government said.
Additionally, the government of the UAE has introduced a new visa regime issuing tourist visas to only persons aged 40 years and above except for those applying for family visas.
Nigerian reality TV star, Anita Akide, popularly called Tacha, who was in Dubai at the time of the incident tweeted about how Nigerians were being treated.
“Dubai is really sending Nigerians back to Nigeria even with their valid visas. And on top of that when you reach Nigeria you’ll be paying an additional fee of N31,000 for whatever reason I don’t even know,” she tweeted.
She also advised Nigerians abroad to act right as the actions of a few are suffered by many.
“Nigerians abroad try dey behave yourselves too. We need to do better. People are seriously suffering because of fights that we did not partake in…” Ms Akide wrote.
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