[ad_1]
For a few years the embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Lagos has been accumulating visa charges in {dollars} as an alternative of in naira, which negates Nigeria’s coverage on overseas forex utilization within the nation.
Additional investigation exhibits that the Turkish visa charges in comparison with visa charges of different embassies, together with the European embassies in Nigeria, are outrageously excessive.
THISDAY, which visited the embassy, learnt that till not too long ago the embassy was charging $300 for visa charges however the precise visa charge is $60. Invariably, the remainder of the cash goes to the company that processes the visa software, generally known as Voya. After processing, Voya sends the applicant’s processed passport to the Turkish important embassy in Abuja.
However final week, in response to the federal authorities’s request that embassies ought to cease accumulating {dollars} for visa charges or some other funds in Nigeria, the embassy introduced to visa candidates that the brand new visa charge was now was N827, 000.
One of many candidates, who launched himself as shade Aliyu, informed THISDAY that there was indication that they have been arbitrarily fixing the visa worth. He stated clearly it was above the actual visa charge and what they did was simply to pad the charge to jack it as much as N827, 000.
“As a daily traveller to Turkey, as a result of I’m into merchandise, I simply seen that visa charges on the embassy are elevated arbitrarily. From my findings, Turkish ambassy has not elevated its visa for a very long time however between 2022 and 2023 the company, Voya, has elevated visa charge from $250 to $300 and it’s the identical $60 that the embassy nonetheless collects,” Aliyu stated.
One other applicant who spoke to THISDAY, whose title is Franklin Ihejirika, stated that any time one involves the embassy new guidelines are launched, which don’t replicate on the embassy’s web site.
“The primary time I went to the embassy I had gone to the Turkish embassy web site that learn the necessities for visa and I printed it out, however after I got here to the embassy at Victoria Island, Lagos, I used to be given new circumstances. They informed me that they can’t settle for {dollars} printed in sure years, besides the newer ones. They informed me that if the greenback was folded they’d not accumulate it and if there’s any exterior mark, even when it’s a tiny dot, virtually invisible dot, they will not take it.
“What I skilled is that the Nigerians who work there purposely hold visa candidates at the hours of darkness about many issues; so, whenever you come they are going to reject your {dollars} so you can be pressured to purchase {dollars} from them at outrageous trade price. They’ve one other rule about your native authorities, which isn’t contained within the web site. So, whenever you come they let you know that you should have the doc written particularly method and since you can not receive it elsewhere, you resort to getting it from the brokers who keep across the embassy. So, they use the embassy to extort Nigerians in a method that you simply can not assist it, if actually you want to acquire visa from them,” the applicant stated.
When THISDAY visited the embassy in Lagos, the safety official stated that anybody who was not coming for visa wouldn’t have entry to the embassy and there was nobody that was allowed to speak on behalf of the embassy.
THISDAY visited these providing totally different companies across the embassy, some hid their enterprise in vans; however now that Nigerian has banned the cost of visa charge in {dollars}, those that provided overseas trade have change into irregular however one among them informed THISDAY in confidence that they’d be again.
“We will come again. I’m positive this embassy won’t accumulate naira for a very long time, particularly with the way in which naira is fluctuating. Very quickly they are going to reverse to the outdated system. A few years they’ve collected {dollars} even when authorities folks come right here they pay in {dollars}. A few of them will complain however they are going to pay in {dollars}. We’re simply ready. They’ve to return to {dollars} as a result of for those who name the naira equal as the price of the visa it can appear an excessive amount of,” he informed THISDAY.
Early in Might, the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) learn its riot act to overseas missions primarily based in Nigeria, banning them from transacting in foreign currency echange, and mandating the usage of Naira of their monetary companies.
The EFCC additionally mandated Nigerian overseas missions domiciled overseas to just accept Naira of their monetary companies. The transfer, the EFCC famous, was to deal with the dollarisation of the Nigerian financial system and the degradation of the Naira
The anti-graft fee, in an advisory to the Minister of Overseas Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, titled: “EFCC Advisory to Overseas Missions in opposition to Invoicing in US Greenback,” expressed reservations and displeasure relating to the unhealthy observe by some overseas missions to bill consular providers to Nigerians and different overseas nationals within the nation in United States {dollars}.
One other applicant who gave his title as Tunji, informed THISDAY that what he has noticed at Turkish embassy in Lagos was that the whole lot was designed to earn a living from candidates and the embassy is visibly run by Nigerians.
Based on him, the embassy officers are very fastidious about your paperwork; so, they simply reject your paperwork and rapidly let you know the place you’ll be able to receive one other one and the present many of the providers.
“In the event that they let you know that your lodge reserving is just not appropriate that you need to get one other one. As you’re considering how one can go and get one other one, the official will remind you that the enterprise centre behind the workplace can e book lodge for you. In the event that they reject your passport {photograph}, any individual on the enterprise centre will take you a pointy one and their costs are very excessive. Chances are you’ll not know that you simply want native authorities of origin identification certificates as a result of it’s not within the requirement you’ll learn of their web site. Once you change into exasperated, any individual outdoors the workplace will allow you to procure it for you at exorbitant worth. That’s the method they function.
“Now, they even require letter of self-introduction for some candidates. My considering is that the Nigerian system permits them to be exploiting Nigerians. In comparison with different embassies, you’re feeling you’re being financially sapped on the Turkish embassy. I do not know whether or not they could possibly be known as to order or it’s a part of the autonomy and diplomacy freedom they take pleasure in,” the applicant informed THISDAY.
Nevertheless, a senior Immigration official informed THISDAY that issues referring to embassy are beneath the Ministry of Overseas Affairs but when such complaints are dropped at Immigration, the company would examine it.
[ad_2]
Source link