UAE Denies Affiliation With Visa Verification Website Shared By Nigerian Government

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied any affiliation with a website shared by the Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, purportedly for the verification of Visa applications by Nigerians, according to a report by The Cable.

On Monday, Idris announced that the United Arab Emirates had lifted its visa ban on Nigerians after diplomatic agreements with the Nigerian government. The news raised suspicions because there was no similar announcement from UAE authorities.

The minister added that the ban lifted on Nigeria had some conditions, which included obtaining a document verification number (DVN) from a website he shared with the public.

Part of the conditions the minister described as “mutually beneficial” included a non-refundable N640,000 verification fee on the website, excluding VAT for each application, and proof of a bank balance of $10,000. 

An Investigation by West Africa Weekly’s Editor-in-Chief, David Hundeyin, showed that the website was dubious and positioned to scam unsuspecting Nigerians.

Proving West Africa Weekly’s report, the UAE’s Department of Economy and Tourism told The Cable that the website is not affiliated with the UAE government and that Nigeria is not exempted from the customary visa application process.

The department also denied knowledge of the conditions on the website shared by the minister. It also denied the claim of a proof of $10,000 in a bank.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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