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Nigeria Rejects UK Visa Policy That Requires Citizens To Pay In Foreign Currency
Credit: State House
The Federal Government has rejected a United Kingdom policy which requires that Nigerians applying for visa must pay in foreign dollars.
The British High Commission in Nigeria had announced a new system of visa application whereby UK visa would be paid for online in US dollars.
In a statement signed by its Press and Public Affairs Officer, Rob Fitzpatrick, the commission stated that the new system would begin on December 16.
At a meeting with the Diplomatic Corps on Thursday in Abuja, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, called the policy “illegal”.
She ordered all foreign missions in Nigeria to stop such policy because it was a flagrant assault on Nigeria’s sovereignty.
She said, “It has come to our notice that some diplomatic and consular missions in Nigeria charge visa and other consular fees in foreign currencies.
“This is totally unacceptable and must be stopped forthwith. Charging fees in foreign currencies is an illegal act that clearly violates the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. No self-respecting nation can accept such a flagrant assault on the symbol of its nationhood.”
