The United Arab Emirates has stopped approving visas to Nigerians and has directed that all previously submitted applications should be put on hold.
It was also gathered that about 500 stranded Nigerians in Dubai would be evacuated back home by the Federal Government and were expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Saturday.
Dubai Immigration, in the notice to its trade partners in Nigeria, which include travel agents, also stated that “all Dubai applications submitted are now rejected.”
“The UAE authorities informed us that the rejections will be sent in batches,” a travel agent told our correspondent on Saturday, as the source provided a copy of the notice.
The notice read in part, “Kindly advise your clients to resubmit C2=A0 applications when the issue is resolved between both governments.”
The travel agent stated that the new order would be due to the concerns between the Nigerian and UAE governments, as no reason was given by Dubai authorities for the visa application ban.
One of our correspondents gathered that the returnees would be received by the National Emergency Management Agency at the Hajj facility of the General Aviation Terminal private wing, NAIA.
