Recently, there has been an increase in the difficulty for Nigerians to travel abroad for tourism due to stricter visa requirements imposed by various countries.

Although the reasons for these stringent e-visa requirements are not always clear, they have undoubtedly resulted in significant financial losses, missed opportunities, and wasted time for many Nigerians.

One country that has come under particular scrutiny for allegedly implementing such measures is Ethiopia. The Ethiopian embassy has been accused of defrauding Nigerian travelers by accepting payments for e-visas without issuing them or providing refunds.

Travelers have expressed frustration with the embassy’s “deceptive” practices, as they were not informed that online visa applications had been discontinued. Despite this, the embassy’s official website continued to accept applications without any indication that Nigerians were no longer eligible for e-visas.

It has come to our attention that the visa application portal, after receiving payment from visa applicants, leaves them in a state of uncertainty, thereby undermining the very purpose of the application process.

Several individuals impacted by the recent development expressed their concerns to Sunday PUNCH, while others voiced their frustrations on social media platforms.

It is Important to note that the embassy did not provide any prior notification regarding the cessation of e-visa issuance to Nigerian passport holders.

Commuter’s experience

One of the impacted individuals, who chose to remain anonymous, reported that despite multiple deductions for an application and contacting the visa support team, a refund has not been issued since February.

In a conversation with our correspondent, the aspiring travel blogger recounted spending $247 on Ethiopian e-visas without receiving them.

He said, “I’m a new travel vlogger and planned to visit Ethiopia and Tanzania earlier this year. According to the information provided on their official website and IATA guidelines, I tried to apply for an e-visa on their e-visa portal but was unable to pay for days.

“I sent an email regarding the challenge with payment, and their support team, who responded to my query, told me to continue trying because everything was good from their end.

“I eventually got someone to use his UK debit card to pay for me. After multiple attempts, the payment eventually went through, and I was even debited twice for one application. I appealed for a refund for the erroneous debit on the platform but my emails were never responded to.”

The travel blogger continued by stating that typically, the e-visa process should require only a few days or, at most, a couple of weeks for issuance; however, he found himself waiting without any results.

Adventures of Ijoba reported that he had paid $82 and an additional $164, which accounted for a double charge, bringing the total to $246.

He further noted that six months following this incident, he had not received a refund nor had he been issued an e-visa.

He said, “When it was about two weeks to my departure date, I had to travel to the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja to complain. The Ethiopian embassy’s representative informed me that e-visas had been discontinued for Nigerians. I asked for a refund and was told that the platform is managed by a different department and they could not assist me with that.”

As observed in the case of Adventures of Ijoba, a prominent technology specialist named Victor Asemota encountered a comparable predicament.

On July 25, utilizing his handle @asemota on X.com, he provided a detailed account of his arduous experience. He disclosed that he incurred an expenditure of $82 while attempting to obtain an Ethiopian e-visa, but unfortunately, he never received the visa.

He wrote, “What is really the problem between Ethiopia and Nigeria? They just let me waste another $82 on a visa they knew they were not going to issue. This is fraudulent, and they should refund it.

“If you are not issuing visas to Nigerians, say it openly without fear instead of taking our money and doing nothing. This is a 419 scam by the whole country.”

Another user, @jime_marvel, shared her experience on X.com. “They took my money last year and had zero communication.”

In addition, another user, @folucomms, provided a response to the development, stating that… “Ethiopia won’t respond to you if you pay for a visa online as a Nigerian, and they don’t refund (I hope this changes soon). To get an ET, you need to go to their embassy.

“If you’re going for any official reasons, make sure you request a note verbale from those you’re going to meet with. With a note verbale, you can get a visa on arrival for about $200.”

Multiple travel agents confirmed to Sunday PUNCH that Ethiopia visa applications must be submitted in person at the embassy in Abuja.

Ethiopian Visa Issue

In late September 2022, the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja implemented a new regulation affecting Nigerian travelers.

It declared the termination of its visa-on-arrival policy for Nigeria and an additional 41 countries.

The embassy recommended that travelers obtain their visas directly from the embassy in Abuja or apply for an e-visa via the Immigration and Citizenship Service portal of Ethiopia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson, Francisca Omayuli, stated in a press release that, “Nigerians bearing standard passports intending to travel to Ethiopia are advised to obtain appropriate entry visas at the Ethiopian Embassy or an electronic visa through the country’s Immigration and Citizenship Service portal at www.evisa.gov.et.

“Also, those transiting through Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to other destinations or intending to briefly stop over would require a valid entry visa to access hotel facilities in the city or would be obligated to remain in the airport pending their connecting flight.”

Regarding the recent development, Senait Ataklet, the traffic and sales manager of Ethiopian Airlines, provided clarification to The Cable, an online platform. Ms. Ataklet emphasized that the new measure does not constitute a ban but rather replaces the previous visa-on-arrival policy with an online visa application process.

The manager said, “The information I have is that it’s not a ban on arrival visas, but you know just like a Nigerian requesting, they need an online form to be filled out before departure for an on-arrival visa. Even though it’s an arrival visa, you need to fill out an online form.

“Before, anybody could just go without applying, but when Ethiopians come to Nigeria, they need to fill out the online form on arrival. That’s the agreement, that’s what they are telling me now. They need to fill out an online visa-on-arrival requisition form.”

As of August 2024, the Nigerian passport ranks 92nd, granting access to 45 countries through either e-visa options or visas on arrival, as reported by the Henley and Partners official passport index.

Although Ethiopia remains classified as a country offering e-visas, the recent experiences of Nigerian citizens have diverged from this classification.

Nearly two years into the implementation of the new visa policy, Nigerian travelers, who previously enjoyed a smooth process for e-visa applications, have encountered difficulties; despite their applications and payments being processed, they are not receiving the visas.

Concerning Finding

Investigations conducted by our correspondent on the official website of the Ethiopian embassy revealed no notifications informing Nigerians that they can no longer submit applications for e-visas.

Prior to initiating the application process, it was mandatory to accept the terms and conditions, which specified that all payments are non-refundable and managed by the Ethiopian Airlines Group.

Additionally, the website listed countries from which payments would not be accepted.

The terms explicitly stated that credit card transactions from Cuba, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Crimea region of Ukraine, and the Syrian Arab Republic would not be processed, effective November 18, 2020.


Notably, there was no indication that Nigeria was excluded from this list. Our correspondent's attempt to apply for a visa was successful, with no issues or notifications regarding the unannounced restriction on e-visa applications for Nigerian passport holders.

Furthermore, a review of the International Air Transport Association's website, which represents approximately 240 airlines and accounts for 84 percent of global air traffic, confirmed that visas could be obtained prior to departure via the official Ethiopian government website – https://www.evisa.gov.et/ – and that travelers are required to possess a printed visa approval before their departure.

However, this has not been the case for Nigerian travelers, who have expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the lack of communication from the embassy following their payments, as they have neither received their visas nor any refunds.

A review of the Ethiopian Embassy's official Facebook page, the X handle of the Ethiopian Embassy in Abuja, and the @EthioEmbassyNG website revealed that no announcements were made concerning the recent travel restrictions affecting Nigerian citizens.

Additionally, emails sent to the address provided on their Facebook page on July 26 and 30 have yet to receive a response. The same situation applies to the visa support email address, to which another inquiry was directed.

When approached for comment regarding the alleged fraudulent activities associated with the Ethiopian embassy, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Eche Abu-Obe, stated via text message, "This matter needs to be clarified by the Consular section first."