After a three-year dispute, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria have reached an agreement to resume travel for citizens starting from July 15. However, the resolution comes with updated controls and conditions that Nigerian travelers must fulfill to obtain a UAE visa.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known to State House correspondents on Monday after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
Idris said the Federal Government and the UAE authorities have reached an agreement vacating travel restrictions imposed on Nigerians with immediate effect.

The Minister revealed that Nigerian passport holders can now travel to the UAE without any hindrance.
He also asked Nigerians seeking information on the updated UAE visa conditions can visit documentverificationhub.ae for further details.

However, several Nigerians have taken to their X handle to express their displeasure on the new visa fee.

Before the visa ban, the fee was $100. With the current naira to dollar exchange rate (N1,555), in the I & E window, it cost N155,500.

Here is the list below:

One of the new requirements is obtaining a Document Verification Number (DVN).
According to the DV hub, the process is a specialised service designed to authenticate and verify documentation essential for visa applications to the UAE.
The DVN costs a non-refundable ₦640,000 excluding VAT for each application.
This does not include the visa fee which must be paid by credit card at the UAE visa centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
For Nigerians residing abroad, the visa fee can be paid at the nearest UAE visa centre.
“Your issued document verification number will be valid for 14 days from issuance, or once your visa application has been processed by the visa application department (whichever of these come first),” the DV hub said.
Interested travellers are expected to receive their DVN within five business days once payment has been successfully processed.
In addition to obtaining a UAE visa, Nigerians are required to provide proof of a six-month bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000.
The new visa regulations have sparked reactions from Nigerians, with journalist and author Rufai Oseni commenting on the high cost of the DVN and the minimum balance requirement. “So the UAE wants to collect 640k from Nigerians for Visa. Hahahahah,” Oseni wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The updated visa requirements have raised concerns among Nigerian travelers who wish to visit the UAE, as the costs and conditions may prove to be a significant barrier for many.