• Nigeria launches visa overstay crackdown after moratorium ends Sept. 30
• Offenders face fines, deportation, and re-entry bans up to 10 years
• Part of May 2025 reforms to digitize and tighten immigration rules

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a nationwide crackdown on foreign nationals who have overstayed visas or breached entry conditions, starting Oct. 1, 2025.

The move follows the end of a three-month government moratorium on Sept. 30, which allowed irregular foreign residents to regularize their status without penalty.

According to an NIS communique, the measures cover holders of expired Visas on Arrival, short-stay or business visas (single or multiple entry), and expired Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Cards (CERPAC).

“Foreign nationals who breach Nigeria's immigration regulations will face penalties, which may include fines for overstaying, deportation, and potentially being barred from re-entering Nigeria in the future,” the NIS said.

Penalties include a $15 daily overstay fine, deportation, and entry bans lasting up to 10 years, or in some cases permanently.

The crackdown is part of broader immigration reforms introduced since May 2025 to tighten expatriate administration, curb abuses of Expatriate Quotas, and streamline visa procedures through digitization, including electronic visa applications and automated arrival/departure cards.

Lydie Mobio