- Foreign Nationals Face Deportation as NIS Ends Visa Amnesty Period
-
Offenders face deportation, daily fines, or multi-year entry bans.
-
Government says enforcement aims to strengthen security and compliance.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a nationwide crackdown on foreign nationals who have overstayed their visas or violated entry conditions, following the expiration of a three-month amnesty granted by the Federal Government.
EDITOR’S PICKS
- The Past Is Gone, I Forgive and Move On – Jonathan
- Spotify Names Ayra Starr Top Female Force in Afrobeats
- Fela Didn’t Inspire Me – Burna Boy
EKO HOT BLOG reports that the amnesty window, which opened on July 5 and lapsed at midnight on September 30, 2025, gave foreigners with irregular immigration status an opportunity to regularise their stay without penalties.
“With the expiration of the amnesty period, effective October 1, 2025, enforcement actions will commence nationwide against foreign nationals who have overstayed their visa or violated their entry conditions,” NIS spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The enforcement exercise will focus on holders of expired Visas on Arrival, expired single or multiple-entry short visit visas, business visas, and individuals with expired Comprehensive Expatriate Residence Permits and Automated Cards.
According to the NIS, penalties for offenders vary depending on the duration of overstay. Foreigners who overstay for less than three months face deportation, a $15 daily fine, or a two-year entry ban. Those exceeding three months but less than one year risk removal, daily fines, or a five-year entry ban. Overstays of more than one year attract deportation and up to a 10-year or permanent entry ban.
The Service stressed that the measures are aimed at safeguarding national security and ensuring full compliance with Nigeria’s immigration laws.
Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had earlier warned members of the diplomatic corps to advise their nationals to use the amnesty window, noting that Nigeria’s immigration regulations “are not meant to be abused but respected.”
The crackdown forms part of broader reforms introduced in April, which included a $15 daily surcharge on visa overstays. The government temporarily lifted penalties to encourage voluntary compliance before enforcement resumed this month.
