The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Nigerians under the age of 40 will no longer be issued tourist visas to the United Arab Emirates. 

On Thursday, the ministry issued a statement signed by its spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli.

“The general public is invited to note and be guided that the Government of the UAE has introduced a new visa regime and has stopped issuing tourist visas to persons under the age of 40 years, except for those applying for family visas,” the statement said.

The statement was issued in response to a video that made the rounds on social media, showing Nigerians, who arrived at the airport in Dubai, UAE on August 29, but were denied entry into the country, despite having valid visas.

Twitter user @Dinchi posted the video, showing the Nigerians being held in a room hours after they arrived at the airport, saying they had been held without any explanation on why or what they needed to do to be freed.

She claimed that over 20 of them were detained and their passports seized.

The ministry’s statement clarified that most of the affected Nigerians “were issued with family visas, only to arrive in Dubai alone without any family member.”

“Consequently, they were denied entry and advised to return to their country and apply for the appropriate visas,” added the ministry.