FG Gives Foreigners With Expired Visas 3-Month Ultimatum

The Federal Government has once again issued a stern warning to foreigners residing in Nigeria on expired visas, urging them to depart within a 90-day window or face strict consequences.

In a statement released in Abuja on Friday, spokesperson for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, confirmed the timeline, emphasizing the need for compliance.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service wishes to further inform the general public that a window period of three months from 1st May to 1st August 2025 shall be granted to allow foreigners residing in Nigeria with expired visas to return to their home country voluntarily without penalty,” he stated.

This fresh directive also comes with a new timeline: starting 2nd August 2025, foreigners who have overstayed their visas by more than a year will face a permanent entry ban.

During an earlier engagement in Lagos with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced that expatriates who overstay for more than six months would face a five-year ban, while those exceeding one year would incur a ten-year ban, along with a daily overstay fine of $15 from their visa expiration date.

However, the NIS has now made adjustments, stating that one-year overstayers will be blacklisted entirely.

“In addition to the introduction of the e-Visa, Nigeria Visa Policy 2025 now makes it mandatory for foreigners who overstay their visas to be liable to the following penalties (effective from 2nd August 2025): Overstay Penalties (Effective from 1st September 2025): \$15 per day; 3 months and above: \$15/day + 5-year entry ban; and 1 year and above: \$15/day + blacklisting (permanent entry ban),” Akinlabi explained.

In line with reforms, the federal government also officially launched an e-Visa application system and an Automated Landing and Exit Card, effective from 1st May 2025.

“Following the 2024 review of Nigeria’s visa policy, the updated 2025 policy introduces an e-visa system with enhanced security protocols,” said Akinlabi.

The e-Visa system now fully digitises the visa process and reduces application time to under 48 hours. It introduces 13 types of Short Visit Visas (SVV), all accessible through [https://evisa.immigration.gov.ng/].

“Once approved, visas and the QR codes will be sent electronically via the applicant’s email. Visa on Arrival will be officially discontinued as the new e-Visa takes off on 1st May 2025. Visas obtained through the e-Visa Channel are not extendable. Visa on Arrival already issued will remain valid until 30th May 2025,” Akinlabi added.

In another key change, the manual boarding cards have now been replaced.

“The current manual embarkation and disembarkation card has been replaced by an electronic landing and exit card via [https://lecard.immigration.gov.ng/.”

He further elaborated on the implementation: “Automated landing and exit cards have been introduced for inbound and outbound passengers into Nigeria.

“For the inbound passengers (excluding Nigerians), the landing card must be duly completed online before boarding. For the outbound passengers, the exit card must be duly completed online before departure.

“The exit card system is synchronised with the Visa Processing Centre and will automatically apply penalties, including visa bans, where applicable.”

These latest updates underscore the government’s push for stricter immigration enforcement and digital transformation of border control processes.