NIS Begins Crackdown on Foreigners as Visa Amnesty Ends, Deportations Loom

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a nationwide operation against foreign nationals who overstayed their visas or broke immigration regulations, following the expiry of the Federal Government’s visa amnesty program.

The program, which took off on July 5, 2025, gave foreigners a window of opportunity to regularise their immigration status without penalty. That window finally closed at midnight on September 30, 2025.

NIS Public Relations Officer ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, in a report, said enforcement activities commenced on Wednesday, October 1.

The operation will target individuals with expired Visa on Arrival (VoA), single or multiple-entry short visit and business visas, and expired Comprehensive Expatriate Residence Permits and Automated Cards (CERPAC).

Punishments for offenders under the Service include deportation, fines, and prohibition of future entry. Short-term overstays of below three months incur deportation, a fine of $15 per day, or a two-year prohibition of entry. Between three months and a year, overstays are charged the same fines with the addition of a five-year prohibition of entry. Overstays for over one year can lead to removal and a ten-year or permanent prohibition of entry.

The NIS indicated that the enforcement campaign is to increase immigration law obedience, national security, and clarity in the migration system in Nigeria.

“By the close of the amnesty period, October 1, 2025, enforcement procedures have been initiated nationwide against foreign nationals who exceeded their visa periods or came into the country in violation of terms. The violators will be deported, fined, and even prohibited from entry into Nigeria in the future,” the statement read.