The Federal Government has announced August 1, 2025, as the date for full enforcement of immigration penalties targeting foreign nationals who overstay their visas in Nigeria.
The announcement follows the launch of a new online immigration amnesty portal designed to help affected individuals regularise their stay without facing immediate sanctions.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure on Monday during a stakeholders’ sensitisation forum at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja.
Addressing members of the diplomatic corps and immigration officials, Tunji-Ojo stressed that the government would enforce visa laws “100 percent” once the amnesty period ends on July 31, 2025.
“We are opening the immigration amnesty portal in July,” the minister said. “Please encourage your nationals to utilise this opportunity. After July 31, there will be no leniency — penalties will be applied for all overstays.”
The amnesty programme is a central component of the government’s broader immigration reform initiative rolled out in April 2025, aimed at enhancing compliance and reducing abuse of Nigeria’s visa and residency regulations.
Key penalties under new immigration rules include a$15 daily surcharge for each day a visitor overstays, a five-year re-entry ban for overstays exceeding six months and a ten-year re-entry ban for overstays beyond one year.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo also highlighted the government’s broader push to digitise immigration services, citing significant cost savings and improved efficiency.
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“We scrapped physical document archiving that was costing us nearly ₦1 billion annually,” the minister said. “Digital systems allow for better document verification and strengthen the integrity of our national data.”
Since January 8, 2024, passport applications in Nigeria have been fully digitised, requiring online submissions for both new and renewal requests. Applicants now only visit passport offices for biometric capture and collection, a reform that has reduced delays and curbed exploitation by touts.
“People used to wait for months and pay between N200,000 and N500,000 for a N100,000 passport,” Tunji-Ojo noted. “Now, the process takes 20 minutes — that’s how you fight corruption: eliminate scarcity.”
The Interior Ministry has also recorded early success with its electronic visa (e-visa) system, which has processed over 14,000 applications within six weeks of its launch. Tunji-Ojo praised the uptake, calling it “a global-standard achievement,” while assuring that minor system glitches were being resolved.
These platforms are intended to plug loopholes exploited by expatriates who had previously manipulated Temporary Work Permit renewals to bypass residency requirements.
“The era when people came in on TWP and endlessly renewed it to avoid proper documentation is over,” the minister declared. “Both CERPAC and TWP are now fully automated.”
With the August 1 enforcement date fast approaching, Nigerian authorities are urging all foreign nationals in the country to review their immigration status and take advantage of the amnesty period.
“This is not a witch-hunt,” Tunji-Ojo said. “It’s about respect for our laws. No country allows foreigners to abuse their visa systems, and Nigeria will not be the exception.”
The Ministry has begun wide-scale sensitisation efforts, particularly targeting embassies, multinational companies, and diaspora networks to spread awareness about the upcoming changes and available digital tools.