By Abba Gwale
In a statement posted on the website of the United States’ Embassy, effective December 2, 2020, the reciprocity fees required to be paid by Nigerian non immigrant visa applicants, have been removed.
Henceforth, there will no longer be reciprocity fees remaining on any visa class for Nigerian nationals.
However, all non-immigrant visa applicants are still required to pay the $160 non-refundable MRV fee at the time of application. This new policy does affect those who had already paid reciprocity fees prior to December 3, 2020.
The removal of the reciprocity fees is a response to the Nigerian government’s removal of additional fees on U.S. citizens applying for Nigerian visas.
United States government has an existing reciprocity policy, which mandates charging equivalent fees to what any sovereign nation charges American visa applicants seeking to enter that country.
The embassy has further directed people to search for more information regarding fee schedules, on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website: www.travel.state.gov.
