Nigeria scraps repatriation fee

NIGERIA recently scrapped
the controversial R6 000
repatriation fee for first-time
South African travellers to
the country.
OIS Services, the Nigerian
visa lodgment centre in
Johannesburg, and visa
company, Visa Request,
both confirm that the
decision has been in place
for a while.
The fee was originally
introduced as a guarantee
to the government of Nigeria
that first-time travellers
would return to South Africa.
Upon return to their home
country, travellers would
be reimbursed. However,
travel agents reported that
travellers rarely received
their money back.
One consultant recently
told TNW that of the 500
first-time applications for
Nigerian visas he processed
over two years, only one
client successfully managed
to obtain a refund.
Even today, after the
repatriation fee has been
scrapped, numerous
travellers are still waiting
to be reimbursed for the
fee they paid last year. “It
often takes more than a
year for travellers to obtain
a refund of their repatriation
fee, if they manage to
obtain a refund at all,” says
Madelein de Jager of Visa
Request.