Nigerian applicants decry Saudi visa policy

Nigerian applicants for Saudi Arabian visa have expressed concern over the new system of biometric data capturing, saying the policy was exposing intending pilgrims to various challenges. Saudi Arabia had in 2017, modified its immigration laws to make biometric verification compulsory for visitors. Only three capturing centres - Abuja, Kano and Lagos - were approved by the Saudi authorities for the exercise in Nigeria. Applicants who spoke to Daily Trust at the Abuja office of VFS Tasheel, the partner appointed by Saudi Arabia to facilitate visa applications for Nigerians, complained of the long hours they spend before getting captured. An applicant from Maiduguri who pleaded not to be named, said she spent days waiting to be captured. “I came here with the hope of spending a few hours but now I have been waiting for days,” she said. Another applicant said the new system was hectic to her as a frequent traveler to Saudi Arabia. The Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON) is also worried that the unpreparedness of the company appointed to implement the policy in the country is affecting their businesses. The Vice President of the association, Tijjani Uba Waru, told Daily Trust that the slow pace of the biometric capturing was costing hajj and Umrah operators “millions of naira”, as intending pilgrims were already losing interest. Efforts to speak to the management of VFS Tasheel proved abortive.