South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has eliminated the requirement for passport submissions during tourist visa applications for Nigerian citizens. The announcement was made during the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) held in Cape Town, with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in attendance.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, shared details of the development in a statement. Previously, submitting a national passport was a mandatory step in obtaining a South African visa. However, this step has now been scrapped as part of broader efforts to simplify the visa process.

Highlighting the new policy, Ramaphosa emphasized the introduction of a five-year multiple-entry visa for eligible Nigerian businesspeople.

He noted, “Our efforts to create a favourable environment include our simplified visa process for Nigerian businesspeople to travel to South Africa. Qualifying Nigerian businesspeople can be granted a five-year multiple-entry.

The session, which also marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, showcased the leaders’ commitment to fostering stronger ties. Ramaphosa expressed optimism about the future of Nigeria-South Africa relations, emphasizing the potential for more meaningful economic cooperation.

President Tinubu welcomed the initiative, praising Ramaphosa’s efforts to improve ease of travel between the two nations. However, he cautioned that progress must be measured by action, not agreements alone.

“I must, however, sound a note of caution. Let us not count our successes by the number of MoUs and agreements signed. They will be mere papers until we implement them,” Tinubu said.