The federal government yesterday buckled to pressure by approving a reduction in visa charges payable by United States citizens from $180 to $160.
The reduction followed American government’s approval of issuance fee or reciprocity fee to be paid by Nigerian citizens “effective worldwide” on 29 August.
Nigerians whose American visas have been approved are now to pay extra fees ranging from $80 to $110 (N28, 800 to N39, 600), depending on the type of visa being applied for, the American Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said the complete reciprocity fee schedule, organised by visa classification, include B1- $110, B2-$110, B2/B2-$110, while F1-$110, F2-$110, H1B-$180, H4-$180, I-$210, L1-$303, L2-$303, R1-$80, and R2-$80.
“These fees are based on the principle of reciprocity: when a foreign government imposes fees on the US citizens for certain types of visas, the United States will impose a reciprocal fee on citizens of that country or area of authority for similar types of visas,” said the embassy.
It also said the reciprocity fee would be charged in addition to the non-immigrant visa application fee, also known as the MRV fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application.
Explaining the reduction in visa charges yesterday, the minister of interior Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Muhammad Babandede, had been directed to implement the decrease in the visa charges with effect from Thursday (today).
Spokesman for the ministry, Mr. Mohammed Manga, said in a statement that a committee set up to conduct due diligence in line with the ministry’s extant policy on reciprocity of visa fees had earlier engaged the US embassy on the issue.
He said the implementation of its recommendations was delayed due to “transition processes in the ministry at the policy level.”
“The committee had concluded its assignment and submitted a report, but the issuance of authorisation for its recommendations was delayed due to transition processes in the ministry at the policy level.
“The minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the decrease of visa charges payable by US citizens in line with reciprocity policy as recommended by the committee.
“Accordingly, the comptroller general of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, has been directed to implement the decrease in Nigeria’s visa charges to US Citizens with effect from August 29, 2019,” he added.
