Visa application processes to be online by March – FG

The federal government has said all visa application processes will be done online by March 1.

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Monday when he was hosted on ‘X Spaces’ by an influencer, Dr Segun Awosanya.

Currently, visa application is made, processed and approved in the country of departure. However, all approvals would be done in Abuja when the processes go fully digital.

Tunji-Ojo explained that there is now a centralised visa approval centre that has merged the visa regime to ensure uniformity, enhance national security and reduce corruption.

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“This will stem corruption, ensure national security and merge the visa regime to ensure uniformity. Before March 1st, all visa application systems will be online to ensure proper vetting,” he stated.

The minister reiterated the existence of a harmonised data centre at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC) domiciled at the headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Sauka, Abuja.

He said: “We were able to build one of the biggest data centres in the history of Nigeria, which is the 8.3 petabyte centre. Before then, we had an issue, because we inherited a Nigeria Immigration Service that had no data centre, where the data of Nigerians were obviously being saved in private capacities with various contractors, and that was a gross contravention of the Data Protection Act.

“Nigeria cannot proliferate the issuance of its security document because it is a gross violation of due process and so, we decided to find a lasting solution to that, and we started by promising Nigerians a 1.4-petabyte data centre, but we ended up delivering an 8.3-petabyte data centre – one of the largest in the world.”