The Turkish Embassy in Nigeria clarified on Saturday that Nigerian passport holders are not prohibited from obtaining visas, refuting concerns raised by reports.
On Thursday, rumors circulated that Nigerian passport holders would no longer be eligible for visa-on-arrival, e-visa, or outright passport issuance from Ethiopia, Turkey, or the United Arab Emirates.
To be more precise, Nigerian passport holders are no longer able to easily obtain Turkey’s e-visa—a procedure that was previously flawless.
Despite these changes, the Personal Secretary to the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Wunmi Evelyn, clarified in a chat with our correspondent, “There is no visa ban on 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.”
The secretary clarified that each case is considered individually when evaluating visa applications, citing particular situations in which applicants were turned down.
“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. Besides, he/she should update the documentation and refrain from supplying old versions of required supporting documents,” she added.
This explanation followed the Henley Passport Index’s ranking of Nigeria’s passport as one of the least powerful in the world.
In 2023, Nigeria was ranked 90th globally, allowing visa-free admission to only 46 out of 227 destinations.
Nigeria’s passport ranks fifth worst in Africa, tied with South Sudan, and only better than those of Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia, despite having the largest economy in the continent.
