Investment Drive: NIS To Unveil ‘Economic Trust Visa’

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), is set to unveil a new visa regime – “Economic Trust Visa” as part of its measures to deepen foreign investment in Nigeria.

Its acting comptroller-general, Mrs Carol Wura-Ola Adepoju, who described the about to be introduced “Economic Trust Visa”, as a new initiative to safeguard the interests of foreign investors entering the country for business purposes, also revealed that the service has also stepped up its border management strategy.

Adepoju made the disclosure during a world press conference organised as part of activities to mark the service 60th anniversary themed; “Enhancing Seamless Migration”, yesterday in Abuja.

She said the primary objective of the initiative is to prevent fraudulent individuals posing as business persons from taking advantage of foreign investors seeking partnerships with Nigerians.

The new visa system, according to her, would among others, serves as a guarantee of authenticity for foreign investors involved in Nigerian partnerships.

The CG said, “We are looking at using our visa regime to support the vision of the Nigerian government in improving our economy.

“We have proposed the issuance of an Economic Trust Visa whereby we will assist interested investors in checking the profiles of their would-be partners.

“We will work hand in hand with security agencies in Nigeria to ensure that foreign direct investors are not swindled of their hard-earned money.”

Buttressing on the agency’s resolve to step up on border management , the acting NIS boss who expressed worry at the happenings in neighbouring countries , said the service will invest more in border management in the years ahead, adding that more logistics would be made available for trained personnel to do their job.

She particularly added that Nigeria is not immune to some of the migration challenges facing other countries of the world but has continued to confront these challenges with support from the federal government.

Appreciating its development partners, Adepoju, assured that the agency will put into good use all the facilities provided in the centre to ensure personnel are well-versed in the implementation stage.