Expatriates to pay $15 daily fine for visa overstay – FG

Expatriates to pay $15 daily fine for visa overstay – FG

The federal government has warned expatriates against violating Nigeria’s immigration laws, particularly regarding visa overstays. 

It said defaulters will now face a daily fine of $15, alongside a possible long-term entry ban.

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this over the weekend during a stakeholder engagement with members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) House in Ikeja, Lagos.

He announced that effective August 1, 2025, any foreign national who overstays their visa in Nigeria will be required to pay a $15 daily fine.

He also said more serious overstays would attract stiffer penalties, explaining that an expatriate who overstays by more than six months will be banned from re-entering Nigeria for five years, while a one-year overstay will result in a 10-year entry ban.

According to the minister, these measures are part of a broader initiative under the Expatriate Administration System, set to launch on May 1, 2025.

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The system aims to tighten immigration compliance and improve the accuracy of data on foreign residents in the country.

He said current estimates place the number of expatriates working and residing in Nigeria at over 50,000, a figure he described as unreliable for effective planning and policymaking.

As part of the transition to the new system, a three-month grace period will begin on May 1, 2025, allowing expatriates to regularise their immigration status before enforcement begins in August.

The e-visa system, Tunji-Ojo added, will replace the visa-on-arrival process, allowing legitimate tourists and business travellers to obtain Nigerian visas within 48 hours. This reform is expected to curb abuse and streamline entry procedures.