Visa ban against Nigeria: Turkey issues clarification

Ankara - The government of Turkey has denied reports regarding imposing a visa ban against citizens from Nigeria.

In this regard, Personal Secretary to the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Wunmi Evelyn, told newsmen that there is no visa ban against Nigerian passport holders.

“As it is well-known, if there will be any update regarding rules and procedures of the policies and practices of any country, these updates are officially notified to the respective foreign ministries, and statements/announcements are issued by the embassies,” she was quoted as saying by Vanguard.

The official explained that visa applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, rejecting the impression that there was a blanket ban against Nigerians.

'While every application has been considered as case by case, for an applicant who has previously been denied a visa, (if there is not any fraud or forged documents detected) he/she should correct the mistakes that have been made in his/her initial application and try to improve the quality of his/her application,' the official highlighted.

“Besides, he/she should update the documentation and refrain from supplying old versions of required supporting documents,” she added.

It bears mentioning that media reports last week implied that three countries i.e. Ethiopia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stripped Nigeria of visa privileges.  It was also reported that Turkey has ceased issuing e-visas to Nigerian citizens though the controversy stands addressed now.

The passport of Nigeria is already weak and as per the fresh Henley Passport Index released in the ongoing year, Nigerians enjoy visa-free travel to 45 destinations with their passport ranked at 96th place. There has been a downtrend trend from 2006 onwards when the Nigerian passport ranked at 62nd spot.