Tougher times await Nigerians seeking to travel to Sweden following the caveat placed on the issuance of visa to it citizens.
According to a rejection letter sighted by Atqnews, the Swedish embassy in Nigeria averred that the uncertain security situation in the country and the ongoing economic crisis may force its citizens to over stay their visas in Sweden.
The issuance of visa to applicants according to the embassy will be based on how well established the citizens are in their homeland adding that visa issuance should be granted with caution.
The statement reads: “The security situation in Nigeria is uncertain and there is an ongoing economic crisis in the country. There is therefore a high risk that Nigerian citizens do not leave the territory of the member state before the expiry of the visa applied for. The applicant must therefore be well established in their homeland to be able to be granted a visa. According to the visa practice of the Swedish Embassy for Nigerian citizens visas should be granted with caution.”
The caveat on the issuance of visas to Nigerians by the Swedish embassy is coming weeks after the United States embassy in Nigeria suspended the use of dropbox by applicants seeking to acquire visa to United States.
According to an article published by atqnews, the suspension on the use of the dropbox came into effect on May 14th, 2019.
The suspension of the Drop box waiver may not be unconnected with the concerns raised by President Donald Trump’s directive to homeland security to sanction countries that have overstay rate in the United States.
Trump had issued a presidential memo declaring that visa overstay rates are “unacceptably high,” calling it a “widespread problem.”
He had instructed federal agencies to consider action against countries that have business and tourism travelers – using the popular B1 and B2 visas – overstay at a rate higher than 10%, based on a new Homeland Security report.
Twenty countries have overstay rates higher than 10%, according to the Homeland Security report. Except for Syria and Nigeria, these countries accounted for fewer than 1,000 overstayers each.
Trump gave the State Department four months to consult with Homeland Security officials and Attorney General William Barr to recommend sanctions, which he said could include suspending or limiting visas for those countries.
But some Nigerians are wondering why Trump is targeting Nigeria given the fact that the country has lower overstay rate compared to other African countries.
