Nigerian travellers are seeking alternative destinations following fresh visa restrictions by the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada.
The UAE recently imposed tougher entry conditions on Nigerian travellers and banned transit visa applications entirely.
Similarly, Canada recently raised proof of funds to N17 million for express entry applicants.
Also, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria said Nigerians seeking to travel to the nation on non-immigrant visas will now receive single-entry three-month permits, rather than up to five-year, multiple-entry visas they enjoyed previously.
Some travellers say they have started making alternative plans outside the three nations where there are restrictions.
Sam Obubra, a regular traveller, said he plans to travel to African nations for holiday in September.
“I used to travel to those countries a lot, but I am planning to spend more time in Kenya and South Africa, where scrutiny will be less,” he said.
Mary Ezenna, a regular traveller, said she plans to travel more to Europe this year.
“Most of my travel plans this year and next year will be around Europe. This will reduce the kind of challenges associated with travelling to such nations where restrictions have been placed. You know, restrictions often bring about more scrutiny and embarrassment at the airports,” she further said.
Read also: Nigeria urges U.S. to reconsider new visa restriction policy
Experts speak
Seyi Adewale, chief executive officer – Mainstream Cargo Limited, said the “stricter restrictions have limited challenges on the travel future of Nigerians basically because there are many destination alternatives.”
According to him, new entrants to travel and tourism will seek reasonable alternatives within their budgets and scope.
He advised Nigeria to engage the nations via diplomatic means and ensure that it continues to increase its security architecture, improve citizens’ identification and profiling, collaborate and cooperate with other security agencies in targeted countries without compromising its sovereignty.
In 2021, when the UAE placed visa bans on Nigerians, travellers sought alternatives as they started moving to African destinations such as Egypt, Kenya and Mauritius, which offered relaxed visa rules and had good tourist attractions.
At that time, Ihab Moustafa Awad, Egypt’s ambassador to Nigeria, disclosed that Egypt’s embassy in Abuja received 300 visa applications as against 30 before the UAE ban.
Olumide Ohunayo, industry analyst and director of research, Zenith Travels, told BusinessDay that following the visa restrictions, it is only natural that travellers would seek alternative destinations.
Ohunayo said the visa policy would affect airlines operating the destinations as well as the number of passengers and trade volumes, considering that many Nigerians in the diaspora live in the U.S, while the UAE is a top transit, tourism and trade route.
He, however, said he expects that over time, the countries will begin to lower the high guide on visa constraints and restore things to normalcy.
He emphasised that in doing this, the government should use diplomacy to get the countries to review their positions.
Susan Akporaiye, managing director and CEO, Topaz Travels and Tours, told BusinessDay that since the foreign airlines’ trapped fund problem and the naira fall, travels in and out of Nigeria have not been the same, noting that travel agents have seen drops in revenue.
Akporaiye, who is also the former president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), expressed concerns that with these new visa restrictions, the travel industry will be hit again, especially when people want to renew their UAE, Canada and US visas.
Read also: U.S. visa restrictions threaten regional prosperity, says Yusuf Tuggar
The new rules
According to new directives from Dubai immigration, Nigerians aged 18 to 45 will no longer be eligible for tourist visas unless accompanied.
For those aged 45 and above, visa applicants must present personal six-month bank statements showing a minimum monthly balance of $10,000 (or its naira equivalent).
Travel agents said the new policy is expected to drastically reduce travel from Nigeria to Dubai, a top destination for business and tourism.
In a similar move, the Canadian government recently raised the minimum financial requirement for immigrants applying through the Express Entry system to N17 million, effective July 7, 2025.
Breakdown of recent updates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) showed that single applicants must now show proof of access to at least CAD $15,263 (about N17 million), up from the previous CAD $14,690. For a two-person household, the required amount has risen to CAD $19,001 (around N21.2 million).
In June, the Trump administration added Nigeria to a list of 36 countries that could face travel restrictions if they failed to address various security and diplomatic concerns within two months.
