BREAKING: Anxiety as Saudi Arabia Cancels Visa of Nigerian Passengers on Arrival in Jeddah
- 264 Air Peace passengers were denied entrance into Saudi Arabia after arriving at Jeddah from Kano state
- The Saudi Arabia authorities cancelled the visa of all the Air Peace passengers on Monday, November 13
- It was gathered that it took the intervention of the Nigerian Embassy to reduce the passengers to 177
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Saudi-Arabai, Jeddah - Saudi Arabia has cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted by Air Peace, on arrival in Jeddah from Kano state.
As reported by ThisDay, Saudi Arabia insisted that the airline should return them to Nigeria.
Source: Facebook
It later allowed 87 passengers to remain and insisted that 177 should follow the Air Peace flight back to Nigeria.
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The flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived in Saudi Jeddah on Monday morning, November 13.
According to a source, the passengers were surprised because they went through the Advanced Passengers Prescreening System (APPS), which was also monitored by the Saudi Arabia authorities before the flight left Nigeria.
A source from the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah disclosed that even the Saudi immigration personnel said that they didn’t know who cancelled the visas but that they were cancelled when the airline’s flight was already airborne to Jeddah.
The Saudi authorities reduced the number of passengers that would be returned to 177 from 264 when the Nigerian embassy waded into the issue, Daily Trust reported.
The Airline was on its way to Nigeria with the 177 deported passengers; the majority of them going to perform lesser Hajj (Umrah).
Saudi Arabia simplifies visa process
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Saudi Arabia is opening its doors for investment and has decided to simplify the process of getting a visa for investors.
The government has announced that international investors, including Nigerians, will no longer have to visit a Saudi embassy to get a visa to travel to the Kingdom.
The process for applying for the permit is now fully online from anywhere in the world. This service is part of the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to align with the Vision 2030 initiative, focusing on improving the investment environment and facilitating the start of business activities.
Source: Legit.ng
