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As a build-up to this year’s edition of its annual conference, the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism’s (ANJET) has unveiled the theme for the conference.
Tagged ‘ANJET 2026 Conference’, the one-day gathering of industry stakeholders will be held in October on the theme: “Nigerian tourism Industry and the Nigerian Immigration Service Reforms”, at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos.
The focus, according to the association, is well-thought-after, as it will beam the searchlight on the immigration reforms introduced by the Bola Tinubu administration, which is implemented by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) under the supervision of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, since 2025 when it came into effect.
Speaking further on the theme, the association in a press statement explained that the choice of this year’s theme is predicated on the importance of immigration and visa policies of a country to the development of tourism. Participants and key industry practitioners and officials from the NIS will look at why the immigration reform became necessary, whether the reforms have addressed the challenges and how they have impacted on Nigeria’s tourism fortune. The industry practitioners will also review the new visa regime, especially if it has helped to address the difficulties of visitors in getting Nigerian visa, and how the visa reforms have affected seamless access into Nigeria through Nigeria’s international border posts-air, land and sea.
Top industry experts to discuss the theme include: Dr. Yinka Folami, president, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA); Hajia Bolaji Mustapha, national president, Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), and others.
Prior to 2025, the Nigerian immigration protocol was inchoate and almost chaotic. Tourist visitors for both leisure and business were finding it difficult to visit Nigeria. Getting visa appointments and Nigerian visas was stressful. Even when the visa-on-arrival system was introduced, it was still harrowing for visitors coming into Nigeria.
At Nigeria’s entry points, especially land borders and airports, visitors found it difficult navigating the different points before entering the country, and are at times subjected to opaque levies and outright extortion.
To tackle these and other anomalies in Nigerian immigration protocol, the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to embark on immigration reforms under the Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). The changes the reform brought were far reaching.
A key pillar of the reform was streamlining the visa regime. In line with the above, on May 1, 2025, Nigeria introduced a new visa system that reduced total visa categories down from 79 to 44 types to simplify application pathways for international visitors and foreign investors. Also, the country started implementing a fully electronic visa (e-Visa) system through the NIS to replace the older visa-on-arrival processes and introduce digital landing and exit cards to track movement and curb overstays.
There was also the Expatriate Quota and Residency Integration that linked company quota approvals directly to a digital platform for real-time residence permit (e-CERPAC / e-TWP) processing, removing middlemen and cutting processing loopholes. The aim was to streamline applications for new expatriate quotas, renewals, and facility changes online.
