The Nigerian government has announced that travellers who overstay their visas will, from August, face a daily fine of $15 and risk a ban of up to five years from re-entering the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during a stakeholders’ engagement held at NECA House in Lagos on Friday.
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The meeting focused on various reforms being introduced by the Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), including the Expatriate Quota and the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2025, among other ongoing immigration reforms.
Mr Tunji-Ojo explained that although the penalties will officially begin in May, there will be a grace period until August 2025, during which visa overstayers will not be penalised.
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This, he said, will allow visa holders time to adjust to the new policy before the full enforcement begins in August.
Penalties under new policy
Under the Nigeria Visa Policy 2025, the government has introduced a new penalty system to deter visa abuse. Visa overstayers will be fined $15 for each day they remain in the country after their visa has expired.
Travellers who overstay for three months will face a five-year ban, while those who overstay for one year or more will be banned for ten years.
According to Mr Tunji Ojo, the penalty system is part of broader efforts to ensure compliance, protect national security, and promote responsible migration.
He noted that the NIS would be responsible for enforcing the penalties.
As part of the NVP 2025, the government has also digitised the visa application process. Travellers can now apply for visas online, track the status of their applications in real time, and receive approvals electronically.
Stakeholders at the meeting included officials from the NIS, representatives of foreign missions, and private sector players in the travel and immigration industry.
Concerns with expatriate quotas
Mr Tunji-Ojo also raised concerns about the abuse of expatriate quota and the urgent need to streamline the country’s migration management system.
Speaking on ongoing reforms within the Ministry, Mr Tunji-Ojo explained that there are ongoing efforts to automate business and citizenship processes to “eliminate bottlenecks and overlapping functions between the Ministry and NIS.”
According to him, the current system enables multiple government agencies to repeatedly assess the same business without coordination.
Mr Tunji-Ojo highlighted that many expatriates remain in the same roles for decades, denying Nigerians the chance to understudy or eventually take over.
“Even if we are the dumbest people in the world, 15 years is enough to train and understudy,” he noted, expressing frustration that the system has not enforced knowledge transfer.
He added that some businesses holding government-issued permits exist only on paper, with no traceable operations.
“Government shouldn’t be subsidising expatriates. There are business permits out there, and the ministry doesn’t even have physical addresses for some of them,” he said.
In January, Mr Tunji-Ojo disclosed that up to 90 per cent of expatriates working in Nigeria do not possess valid permits, noting that the automation effort within the Ministry was also aimed at closing this gap.
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This was in response to the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole, who criticised the presence of expatriates doing jobs like selling chairs and bread.
“We try to solve compound problems by solving them in silos… 90 per cent of the people that you spoke about do not have permits and that is the essence of the automation process that we are doing,” Mr Tunji-Ojo said.
Business growth
In his remarks, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said the new immigration reforms are important for both national security and business growth.
Mr Oyerinde noted that while many Nigerians leave the country daily, many foreigners come into the country often without proper papers to take jobs meant for locals.
He commended the Ministry of Interior for involving the private sector and said NECA worked with groups like the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) to form a 10-month committee that reviewed the immigration and expatriate processes.
He said the committee made recommendations to make things simpler and more secure.
Mr Oyerinde reiterated that the reforms will begin on 1 May, with a three-month grace period for businesses to adjust.
“This is not just about rules, but about making the system better for everyone – Nigerians and foreigners,” he said.
