186 Stranded Nigerians Depart South Africa For Lagos, UK To Replace Nigerians’ Expired Visas

About 186 Nigerians were airlifted from South Africa and headed for Lagos, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) disclosed in a tweet on Thursday.

NIDCOM stated that they were being flown home by Air Peace Airlines.

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“186 Stranded Nigerians in South Africa departing OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg South Africa via @flyairpeace flight at 1740HRS to Murtala Muhammed Int’l Airport, Lagos today Thursday 20th August 2020,” it tweeted.

It stressed that in line with evacuation protocols, they all tested negative for Covid-19 before being allowed to board the aircraft.

Upon arrival, they would also embark on a 14-day self-isolation.

During the Covid-19 travel restrictions among countries, NIDCOM was able to facilitate the evacuation of over 6,000 Nigerians.

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Also, recall that the federal government had announced that international flights would resume from August 29.

As such, the United Kingdom’s (UK) High Commission in Nigeria has assured that it will freely replace expired 30-day visas of Nigerians whose travel plans were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also stressed that it was reopening its Visa Application Centres, for that purpose, among other things.

“If an individual’s 30-day visa to travel to the UK for work, study or to join family has expired, or is about to expire, they can request a replacement visa with revised validity dates free of charge until the end of this year.

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“This does not apply to other types of visas,” it tweeted on Thursday.

It added: “The process will be in place until the end of 2020.

“The replacement visa will be valid for 90 days.”

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