In a move to strengthen South Africa-Nigeria ties, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last night that efforts to create a favorable environment will include a simplified visa process for travelers coming in to South Africa from the West African nation.
With Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is in South Africa for the 11th session of the South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission in Parliament in Cape Town, Ramaphosa added in his opening remarks: “Qualifying Nigerian business people can be granted a five-year multiple entry visa. In addition, tourists from Nigeria can now apply for a visa without submitting a passport.”
That the visa process, previously, has been cumbersome, has been widely reported.
A 2024 report by the Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria) stated that South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has a list of countries exempted from needing a visa for a 30- to 90-day stay in the country, but countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia, Cameroon, Sudan, Somalia, to name a few, are not on the list.
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“Despite Ramaphosa’s emphasis on immigration and tourism, the first year of his presidency saw 7,000 Nigerians get their visas rejected,” Mamadou Saidou Bah and Marie Rebecca Jolicoeur wrote in the report. “It is indeed true that South Africa is largely closed to other Africans but more welcoming to the wider world. When it comes to Africans, the visa regime of South Africa is applied rigidly and that is a contributing factor to the high rejections of visa applications by Africans.”
The president’s announcement garnered mixed reactions on social media.
“We already have a problem with these nationals in our country, now we further relaxing visa laws. Please make it make sense,” one user said on Instagram.
Another on X said: “The damage done by some Nigerians is hard to overlook. However, should we look into the business side of things? We can both benefit. Africa is our home. Let’s find a way to work towards making it a great continent.”
Ramaphosa also stated in his address that he would like to see more Nigerian products on the retail shelves in South Africa. Nigeria is South Africa’s largest trading partner in West Africa. He wishes to see more robust trade between the two countries.
“Nigeria and South Africa enjoy strong diplomatic ties and expanding trade and investment flows,” Ramaphosa said. “The strategic positioning of both countries in their respective regions presents enormous opportunities for collaboration.”
According to Africa Check, in 2016, there were 30,000 Nigerians living in South Africa.
“The outcome of this 11th session of the Bi-National Commission reaffirms our commitment to strengthening existing ties and deeper collaboration between Nigeria and South Africa towards a future of shared prosperity, security, and progress for our people,” Tinubu wrote on X. “As two of Africa’s leading economies, Nigeria and South Africa must keep working together to ensure shared prosperity for our countries and Africa.”
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