‘$645 for three visits’ — CNN correspondent faults Nigeria’s ‘costly’ visa system

Larry Madowo, an international correspondent with CNN, says his experience with Nigeria’s visa system was frustrating.

Madowo made the complaint in a post on his LinkedIn page on Monday.

The journalist said he paid $215 for a single-entry visa to the country despite visiting twice this year alone.

Citizens of Kenya, where Madowo hails from, are required to pay $25 for a single-entry visa, according to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

The former BBC correspondent said he paid a $20 “processing fee” and $170 for biometrics each time he visited the country.

“My fingerprints haven’t changed since I was here 3 weeks ago, why am I paying $170 to have them taken and to pose for a picture each time I visit? Isn’t that a standard part of admitting someone into a country?” Madowo said.

“How can we achieve a borderless Africa, or the promise of the AfCFTA, if we charge Africans $215 for a single-entry visa?”

Last year, Kenyan President William Ruto said Africans travelling to the country would no longer need visas by December 2023.

However, Awele Nwandu, a development worker, told TheCable she paid about $35 dollars for her visa to the East African country in March.

Madowo compared the Nigerian visa system to Kenya’s visa free “delusion”.

“In the 3 weeks since I was last in Lagos, I went to Uganda, South Africa and Ghana where I don’t need a visa with a Kenyan passport. In fact, I’ve also been to South Africa 3 times this year. It cost me $0, like the ancestors intended,” he added.

“Nigeria’s visa-on-arrival system is similar to the “visa-free” delusion of Kenya’s Electronic Travel Authorization — you apply in advance, submit some documents and wait for it to be approved. It can take up to 5 business days. If you know “someone,” you can pay them $50 or more to “facilitate” a faster approval.

“I love Nigeria, but the visa situation is showing me shege. It’s too much oo! Why this Shege Pro Max?”

The African Union (AU) has been vocal about its desire for Africans to “see themselves as one people united under the ideals of pan-Africanism” which requires visa-free travel within the continent.

In the past decade, the AU has repeatedly called for the removal of “the physical and invisible barriers” that have prevented the integration of Africans.

Only Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin offer entry to all African citizens without a visa, according to a 2022 AU report.