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The three-year dispute between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria has been resolved — but not without some caveats.
On Monday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, announced that the UAE and Nigeria had reached an agreement for the resumption of travel for citizens beginning July 15.
Idris said the resolution was reached following “successful talks and extensive, mutually beneficial negotiations”.
However, the minister said the new deal includes “updated controls and conditions” to facilitate obtaining a UAE visa.
One of the new requirements is obtaining a document verification number (DVN).
According to the DV hub, the process is a specialised service designed to authenticate and verify documentation essential for visa applications to the UAE.
The DVN costs a non-refundable ₦640,000 excluding VAT for each application. This does not include the visa fee which must be paid by credit card at the UAE visa centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
For Nigerians residing abroad, the visa fee can be paid at the nearest UAE visa centre.
“Your issued document verification number will be valid for 14 days from issuance, or once your visa application has been processed by the visa application department (whichever of these come first),” the DV hub said.
Interested travellers are expected to receive their DVN within five business days once payment has been successfully processed.
In addition to obtaining a UAE visa, Nigerians are required to provide proof of a six-month bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000.
Applicants are also mandated to show round-trip flight tickets and proof of hotel booking.
A ‘CONSTRUCTIVE BAN’
Nigerians have expressed mixed reactions over the development, with others knocking the federal government for accepting the agreement.
“How many Nigerians have a balance of $10k causally?” tweeted an X user who questioned the authenticity of the UAE’s intentions.