The Federal Government has announced that the United States has removed all reciprocity fees for Nigerians seeking visas to the US with effect from December 3.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this on Saturday in a statement, saying the development was sequel to the removal of excess visa application, processing and biometric fees for American citizens applying for Nigerian visas.
The US government had in August 2019 imposed the reciprocity fee for all approved non-immigrant visa applications by Nigerians.
The fee which ranged from $80 to $303 was charged in addition to visa application fees for only applicants who are issued visas.
In imposing the fee, the US had argued that the total cost for a US citizen to obtain a visa to Nigeria was higher than the total cost for a Nigerian to obtain a comparable visa to the US.
The statement by the foreign affairs ministry signed by its spokesman Ferdinand Nwonye read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the United States Government has removed all visa reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens seeking visas to the United States.
“The positive development is in line with the removal of excess visa application, processing and biometric fees for United States citizens applying for Nigerian visas by the Nigerian Government.
“The United States Government has, therefore, eliminated reciprocity fees for Nigerian citizens with effect from December 3, 2020.”
