The Turkish Embassy in Nigeria has denied reports of a visa ban on Nigerian passport holders.
Reports had surfaced earlier suggesting that Turkey, along with Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, had revoked certain privileges for Nigerian passport holders, including visa-on-arrival and e-visa. However, the Turkish Embassy has confirmed that no such restriction is in place.
“There is no visa ban on Nigerian passport holders,” said Wunmi Evelyn, Personal Secretary to the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria. She explained that visa applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and any updates to visa policies and procedures are officially notified to the respective foreign ministries and announced by the embassies.
Evelyn addressed specific instances where applicants faced rejections, stating, “For an applicant who has previously been denied a visa, they should correct the mistakes made in their initial application and try to improve the quality of their application.”
She added, “They should update their documentation and refrain from supplying old versions of required supporting documents.”
This clarification comes amid Nigeria’s passport being ranked among the world’s least powerful, according to the Henley Passport Index. In 2023, Nigeria was ranked 90th globally, allowing visa-free admission to only 46 out of 227 destinations.
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The Nigerian passport is the fifth-worst in Africa, tied with South Sudan, and only ahead of Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
