At least 3,500 foreign nationals with expired visas have approached the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to regularise their documents or leave the country following the end of the Federal Government’s five-month visa amnesty programme.
The initiative, which ran from May 1 to September 30, was designed to help irregular migrants legalise their stay or depart Nigeria without penalties. But officials say many overstayers ignored the offer, prompting the NIS to begin enforcement operations this month.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ sensitisation session on Expatriate Quota Reform, the new Visa Regime and Post-Amnesty Programme in Abuja, Assistant Comptroller of Immigration D.N. Olanrewaju revealed that 597 individuals registered during the amnesty period — with 455 opting to voluntarily exit Nigeria and 142 regularising their stay.
“Despite the generous five-month window and widespread publicity, a significant number of visa overstayers remain non-compliant,” Olanrewaju said. “The enforcement phase has commenced. It requires discipline, commitment and uniform action.”
Under the programme, visa violators were allowed to either regularise their documents or voluntarily leave the country without incurring fines. Initially, the government had planned to impose penalties from August 1 but extended the grace period to October following requests from foreign missions and stakeholders.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo had in July urged members of the diplomatic community to “tell their people to take advantage of the amnesty,” warning that once the window closed, “the law will be implemented 100 per cent.”
The amnesty formed part of a broader immigration reform drive launched in April, which also introduced a $15 daily surcharge for each day a visitor overstayed their visa. The government has since rolled out a Post-Amnesty Voluntary Return and Documentation Programme, allowing defaulters another opportunity to come forward before facing sanctions.
“This new phase allows those who missed the amnesty to document themselves and explain why they couldn’t regularise earlier,” Olanrewaju said. “Genuine cases will be treated on merit, but others will have to pay penalties or exit the country.”
He also cautioned employers and sponsors of expatriates to comply with immigration laws, warning that “anyone aiding or harbouring irregular migrants commits an offence under the law.”
Comptroller-General of Immigration Kemi Nandap said the amnesty was a “magnanimous policy” by the Federal Government to give irregular migrants a chance to correct their status without encumbrances.
“The Post-Amnesty Voluntary Return and Documentation Programme follows a five-month Amnesty window from May 1 to September 30,” she said. “It was designed to strengthen migration management and enhance Nigeria’s attractiveness for investment.”
Nandap added that the reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration — including electronic residence and work permits, digital landing and exit cards, and expatriate quota automation — are aimed at creating a “more efficient, secure, and traveller-friendly immigration system that supports economic growth.”
The Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, also backed the initiative, describing it as “restorative, not punitive.”
“It offers foreign nationals who may have fallen out of compliance with immigration regulations a lawful path to regularisation, while reinforcing Nigeria’s sovereignty and adherence to the rule of law,” he said.
Tuesday’s forum brought together officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, private sector representatives, and members of the diplomatic community to discuss compliance, documentation, and post-amnesty enforcement.
