Nigeria tackles immigration issues

2017 welcomed significant change to Nigeria’s immigration landscape with the release and immediate enforcement of the Immigration Regulations on March 2017.

The aim of the Regulations is to support the implementation of the Immigration Act of 2015 and to ensure that Nigeria’s immigration system is able to effectively deal with current issues of migration and compliance, along with attracting international investment and tackling human trafficking and border security.

A few matters of interest include: 1) the greater leniency placed on foreign nationals intending to conduct business activities in Nigeria, 2) allowing more nationalities to obtain entry visas upon arrival in Nigeria, 3) providing for the renewal of Temporary Work Permits from within Nigeria, 4)  providing for mandatory registration of foreign nationals and enforcing stricter penalties against both corporates and individuals for failure to renew expatriate quotas, 5) stricter penalties will also be imposed on failure to report foreign worker numbers or failure to report other immigration-related offences.

It is therefore evident that there has been a major emphasis on immigration compliance and enforcement as a whole. It is important for ERA clients to be aware of this and to seek professional assistance when relocating employees so as to ensure immigration compliance.

For more information, please contact our Immigration Attorney:
Claire Weber at 27 (0) 21 818 3391 or claire.weber@executiverelocationsafrica.com