Nigerians with expired or invalid passports in Ukraine will be allowed back home, the Nigerian Immigration Service has said.
The acting comptroller-general of Immigration, Isah Jere, disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday in a phone interview.
There are over 4,000 Nigerians in the eastern European country which descended into war last week with an invasion by its neighbour, Russia.
Many Nigerians in the country are students in higher institutions of learning.
The Nigerian government had asked its nationals in Ukraine “to remain calm but be very vigilant and be responsible for their personal security and safety.”
The government asked Nigerians seeking safety to move to Hungarian or Romanian borders. Hungary and Romania approved visa-free access to all Nigerians coming from Ukraine.
“For now, movements to the Hungarian Zahony border and Romanian Suceava, Tulcea, Satu Mare County, and Maramures borders is advised, as they have approved visa free access to all Nigerians coming from Ukraine,” a statement by Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary of the Foreign Affairs ministry, read.
Mr Jere told PREMIUM TIMES that the government has approved the entry of Nigerians without passports.
“Nigerians in Ukraine without passports are free to travel back to Nigeria. We have spoken to the airlines and other operators to allow them. It is not their fault,” he said.
“During COVID-19 we could not travel and the passports were fixed to expire on a certain date so we cannot stop it. Each passing day, it draws closer to its expiration date.
“The Minister has approved that any Nigerian whether studying there or not can return, they will renew it here,” he added.
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