The Federal Government has announced August 1, 2025, as the commencement date for the full enforcement of penalties against foreign nationals who overstay their visas in Nigeria.
Ahead of the deadline, the Ministry of Interior has launched an online immigration amnesty portal to enable affected individuals to regularise their status without facing immediate sanctions.
Interior Minister Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed the timeline during a stakeholders’ sensitisation event at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja on Monday. Addressing members of the diplomatic corps, he urged foreign residents to take advantage of the amnesty window, which remains open until July 31, 2025.
“I plead with you, we are opening the immigration amnesty portal in July. Please encourage your nationals to utilise this opportunity,” the minister said. “Once the amnesty period is over, we will implement the law 100 per cent. There will be penalties for overstaying in Nigeria.”
The amnesty forms part of a comprehensive immigration reform package rolled out in April 2025. Key components of the policy include a $15 daily surcharge for each day a visitor remains in the country beyond the authorised stay and stiff re-entry bans for severe violations. Overstays of six months will attract a five-year re-entry ban, while those exceeding one year will face a 10-year prohibition.
The newly launched portal facilitates regularisation by allowing holders of expired visas-on-arrival, lapsed single-entry visas, or overdue expatriate residence permits to apply for stay clearance online. Applicants can upload relevant documents and receive digital approval without physically visiting an immigration office.
Tunji-Ojo emphasised the necessity of enforcing immigration laws and ensuring that Nigeria’s legal framework is respected by all residents, regardless of nationality.
The minister also provided an update on the government’s ongoing digital transformation of immigration services. He revealed that scrapping the manual archiving of visa and passport files in late 2023 has saved the government nearly ₦1 billion annually.
“We cancelled the physical presentation and manual archiving that was costing us almost a billion naira a year,” Tunji-Ojo stated. “It gives us the opportunity to verify documents ahead of time, improving the integrity of our foundational data.”
The ministry formally began its e-passport automation drive on January 8, 2024, mandating digital applications for new and renewal requests. Under the current system, applicants complete their submissions online, including uploading supporting documents, and only appear in person for biometric capture and passport collection.
By May 2025, 99 percent of passport issuance was fully automated, according to immigration officials, with the remaining procedures compressed into 20-minute appointments. The reform has eliminated widespread delays and the exploitation of desperate applicants by touts.
“Years ago, people waited months and paid touts ₦200,000 to ₦500,000 for a ₦100,000 passport booklet,” the minister recalled. “If you want to kill corruption, kill scarcity.”
Dr. Tunji-Ojo also highlighted the rapid uptake of the electronic visa (e-visa) system, reporting over 14,000 applications processed within six weeks of its launch.
“By any global standard, that is a success,” he said, adding that minor system hitches were being addressed.
He further announced that two additional digital services, the electronic Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (e-CERPAC) and the electronic Temporary Work Permit (e-TWP), would go live within the week. These upgrades are designed to clamp down on the abuse of TWP provisions, which have historically been manipulated by expatriates to bypass legal residency requirements.
“The era when people came on TWP and endlessly renewed it to avoid proper documentation is over,” he declared. “Both CERPAC and TWP are now automated.”
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