on Monday said it plans to impose reciprocal visa requirements on US citizens following Washington’s new rule demanding that Nigerian applicants disclose their social media activity for the past five years.
The Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed the decision after the US Mission in Nigeria issued its directive over the weekend.
What does the US visa rule require?
The US Mission said applicants must list all social media usernames, handles, email addresses and phone numbers linked to accounts used in the last five years.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years on the DS-160 visa application form,” the mission said.
It added that applicants would be required to certify that the information in their visa application was correct before signing and submitting it.
“Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” said the mission.
The regulation is part of that it says are to “ensure national security.”
The rule expands an earlier requirement for international students to share their accounts and even lower privacy settings.
Officials said the information would help vet applications more thoroughly.
What is Nigeria planning in response to the US visa requirement?
Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kimiebi Ebienfa said the government would adopt the same measures for Americans applying for Nigerian visas.
“Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures. Anything visa is reciprocal. What you are mandating our nationals to do, we will also mandate your citizens applying for our visa to do,” he said.
He added that the Foreign Ministry will hold an inter-agency meeting with the Interior Ministry and the National Intelligence Agency to finalize the policy.
“We will have a meeting and agree on our best way to respond to it holistically,” Ebienfa said. Officials stressed that Nigeria was informed of the US plan in advance.
The move comes as Nigeria faces pressure to protect its citizens from what it sees as restrictive foreign immigration rules.
Ebienfa’s comments were reported in the online editions of two of Nigeria’s biggest newspapers, Punch and Vanguard.
In July, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said the country from US President Donald Trump.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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