Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has announced the downward review of visa fees payable by United States citizens by 11 percent, meaning that the reduction will move from $180 (N55,260) to $160 (N49,120).
In a statement signed by Mr Mohammed Manga, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIC), the agency was directed to implement reduction with effect from Thursday, August 29, 2019.
“The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the decrease of visa charges payable by US citizens in line with reciprocity policy as recommended by the committee,” the statement said.
This development followed the US Government announcement that Nigerians will be required to pay visa issuance fees or reciprocity fees which is to be charged alongside the non-immigrant visa application fee which all applicants pay at the time of application.
The US Government also claimed that they had engaged the Nigerian Government on the cost of visa issuance to its citizen since early 2018, saying, “Since early 2018, the U.S. government has engaged the Nigerian government to request that the Nigerian government change the fees charged to U.S. citizens for certain visa categories.
“After eighteen months of review and consultations, the government of Nigeria has not changed its fee structure for U.S. citizen visa applicants, requiring the U.S. Department of State to enact new reciprocity fees in accordance with our visa laws.”
This means that Nigerians looking to travel to the US will be required to pay an extra $110 (N33,770) for the visa issuance fee. Applicants going for the L1 Visa (work permit) will pay an extra $303 (N93,021) if given visas, while those applying for H4 Visa (dependency/spousal) will pay $180 (N55,260) fee.
With this reduction in visa fees to be paid by American citizens by the Federal Government, the US Government is expected to make a U-turn on its earlier announced reciprocity fees.
