Automated regime: Visa approvals now processed in 48 hours — Tunji-Ojo

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has revealed that the visa application process has been automated, enabling decisions on visa approvals to be processed within 48 hours.

The Minister disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday when President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC) at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters.

According to him, the new automated regime allows visa approvals to be completed in just 48 hours, marking a significant reduction from previous timelines that often extended to days or weeks.

He said, “We now have an automated visa regime with 48 hours of visa approval.”

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An automated visa regime refers to the use of digital systems to manage and process visa applications more efficiently, thereby reducing manual intervention.

The Minister also revealed that security operatives had recently arrested 10 individuals on INTERPOL’s watch list while they were attempting to enter Nigeria.

He emphasised that the era when criminal elements on wanted lists could enter the country unchecked was over.

“In the last couple of days, there were 10 people who were on the INTERPOL and immigration wanted list who were apprehended in one week.

“Before now, those people would have entered Nigeria, causing terror. But we have now told them that under the new leadership, Nigeria is a no-go area for any criminal element.”

The complex inaugurated by President Tinubu includes several facilities: the command and control center (regular migration), the NIS data center, the ECOWAS biometric card production centre, the interior data centre, and a 0.5KW solar power plant.

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