500 Nigerians Stranded 4 Months After UAE Declines Renewal of Work Visas

• Nigerians in the UAE have decried the refusal of work visas by the officials of the country
• The Nigerians said while there are quite enough jobs in the country, they cannot work because they lack to do so
• A spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs said no information have been received on the matter

Despite migrating in search of greener pastures due to the high unemployment rate in Nigeria, over 500 Nigerians are at the risk of losing their jobs in the United Arab Emirates.

These Nigerians are faced with the risk of adopting an unemployment status four months after the UAE stopped granting or renewing employment visas for migrants from Nigeria and the Western Asian country.

Punch reports that although many of these Nigerians have returned to their home country, over a hundred of them are still in the UAE with the hope that the decision would be rescinded.

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Also, the ICIR had reported that the UAE had barred Nigerians from applying for work permits and placed visa restrictions on them.

In its confirmation, the UAE's ministry of labour said the permits were regulated in line with COVID-19 precautionary and preventive measures adopted by the country.

However, Fahad Al Taffaq, the UAE ambassador to Nigeria, said there was no official communication on the decline of work visas or issuance as reported.

UAE Officials Not Aware of the Situation

Receiving the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, at the embassy in Abuja, Taffaq said he only read about the situation on social media.

Taffaq said:

“UAE has no restrictions against any nationality.”

Contrary to this, Chukwudi Kalu, a Nigerian resident in UAE said he has sent a list of 500 Nigerians have their work permits have been declined to the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

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Kalu said most Nigerians in UAE are currently struggling and intervention from both nations is urgently needed to avoid an ugly situation

He said:

“Most of those who lost their jobs have gone back home (Nigeria) while some are still here trying to see when this issue would be discussed. Nigerians are losing their jobs in high numbers, that’s the fact.

“I have a Nigerian graduate who was earning N40,000 back home and he came here to UAE and was being paid almost N500,000 every month. Now, his visa would expire by November, he couldn’t renew. He kept calling me every time for an update.”

Oluwatosin Fadoju, a Nigerian activist based in Dubai warned that many Nigerians are stranded on the streets of UAE due to a lack of work permits.

He said that there are lots of jobs in the UAE but Nigerians over there cannot access them without a valid work permit.

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Nigeria Makes Promise to Resolve the Matter

Reaction to the situation, the spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry in Nigeria, Esther Sunsuwa, said they are yet to receive information on the matter.

She, however, said diplomatic steps would be taken to resolve the issue if it turns out to be true.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Emirates had reinstated its lift ban on flights from Nigeria.

The ban from the country on Nigerian flights came a few days after the country announced its readiness to allow aircraft to and from Nigeria.

It was gathered that the ban from the UAE's flag carrier began on Monday, June 21, until further notice.

Also, the UAE had placed some Nigerians on their terror watch list. The decision is a sequel to the nation's effort to disrupting every network associated with sponsoring terrorism across the globe.

Source: Legit.ng