Travel professional and former journalist, Emmanuel Ayomide Praise, has demanded better treatment for Nigerian visa applicants by foreign embassies in the country who see them as “commodity.” Ayomide-Praise,40, in an encounter with Sunday Sun, highlighted developments in the travel industry and changes that have occurred over time. excerpts:
As a travel professional, what evolution in the industry do you see over the years?
I have watched the industry grow and evolve, not only in the areas of aviation and tourism but specifically in the visa application niche where I operate. There have been so many changes over the years. For example, most foreign embassies in Nigeria such as Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia now use third-party visa processors like VFS Global and TLSCONTACT. However, the user experience on the part of the visa applicants can be better and should be approved. Unfortunately, many visa applicants in Nigeria are treated like commodities. The visa processors care only about the applicant’s monies and about doing their own bit such as collecting documents and doing biometrics while the embassies receive payment for visa fees and just refuse applicants at random.
There is a seeming disdain for the Nigerian visa applicant by the foreign embassies in Nigeria, especially if they are first time applicants or are considered not to have travel history. I know that the applicants also have to show credibility before visas can be granted. If you have noticed in the past few years, there has been greater emphasis on factors such as family ties in visa applications but 10 or 15 years ago, those factors were not very prominent.
So, what are the biggest challenges in your line of business?
The challenges we have as operators in the travel industry are not markedly different from those of other professionals. No one is exempted from the present harsh economic realities.
However, in a recessed economy like ours, you would expect fewer people to engage your services: visa applications, ticketing or hotel reservations in foreign lands. But cash squeeze caused by galloping inflation is adversely affecting the cost of living and doing business.
It is not peculiar to us alone. It is a general problem. But, I always believed that those who know their onions in the business will always get by, even if it won’t be on a large scale.
You said Nigerian visa applicants are often treated like commodity, how do we improve the situation?
Good question. We have to start building credibility again. The truth is, if a visa officer doesn’t consider your application credible enough, it is likely to be refused. In showing credibility to the visa officer, you must be very clear about what you do for a living (proof of employment), how you make you money and how much you make on a regular basis, either monthly or otherwise; you must demonstrate how much you have for the trip and how much you are willing to spend. Finally, you must show your family ties. If you are married, provide proof of marriage and having children and show that you are well settled here with your family and you intend to return. When applicants endeavour to do this in their visa applications, they have less chances of being refused visas or like I said being treated like commodities.
What particular challenges do Nigerians face getting visas?
The challenges are numerous and humongous. You can as well say that bottlenecks have deliberately been placed on the path of the average Nigerian visa applicant, especially one who is applying for the first time. So when you are applying for a visa to major countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy etc, you almost have to over-document in order to prove that you qualify or merit the visa and this is very unfortunate.
I understand that one of the reasons is also the abuse of visas by Nigerians. What do I mean by abuse of visas? When you apply, for example, for a visitor visa, which is a non-immigrant type of visa, then you decide to immigrate or ‘Japa’ with it, you make it extremely difficult for the next person who will be applying. Getting visitor visas to major countries from Nigeria, which can then be used for such purposes as tourism, shopping, meeting a client or going to inspect some goods, has become difficult because individuals from countries such as Nigeria have misused such visas in the past. So visa abuse or misuse is what is now responsible for what Nigerians are experiencing in terms of high rate of visa refusals.
So how do embassies make visa applications process easier for travellers?
Specifically, in the visa application sector, embassies, foreign consulates and their third-party visa processors such as VFS still need to do better. I have noticed some recent improvements, for example, with the US Embassy. Since they migrated to their new AVITS portal, there have been significant improvements in the interview appointment booking arrangements. There is less manipulation on availability of interview dates either at their embassy in Abuja or in Lagos. You can easily reach out to them and in less than 24 hours there will be a feedback. Also with the United Kingdom, since they abandoned TLS and moved back to VFS, their visa application now seems to be seamless. Some irrelevant charges have been abolished and I think UK visa applicants are happier. These gains must be improved upon.
In the broader aviation and tourism sector, the government and the regulators need to do more.
I thank God for improvements at our international airport in Lagos; people are noticing now that perhaps there is less touting, new scanning machines have been introduced which make life better for airline passengers. The government still needs to do more to regulate all players in the aviation sector and ensure the recent gains are maximised.
Also, tourism should be a major foreign exchange earner for the country; so relevant agencies should promote tourism more and celebrate Nigeria in the Diaspora as a lovely tourist destination.
Could embassies be swayed by Japa syndrome to deny genuine travellers visas?
Another good question! My answer is yes. The ‘Japa’ wave has actually created a credibility problem for many intending visa applicants. Embassies no longer know who to trust. So even if you say are going to study abroad and you need a study permit, the onus is on you to prove that you will return to your home country after completing your studies. If you can’t prove that even when you may have paid your school fees, the visa officer can still turn you down. So, if you are a student visa applicant, for example, in your letter of intent or statement of purpose, you must state unambiguously that you plan to come back home. The same thing applies to everyone else.
Here, my advice is this. Instead of applying for a visitor visa when your actual intention is to immigrate, why not research and explore other immigrant visa options. Many countries are coming up with such options, in United States of America, there is H1B, EB1, EB2 visas; some of these are skill or employment-based immigrant visas. In Germany, they have the Blue Card options, Portugal has Job Seeker visa and many other countries have similar programmes. So, just do your research and take advantage of the suitable options. In Canada, you can file for Permanent Residence directly from here, or Provincial Nominee Programmes (PNP), etc. Preventing abuse or misuse of visas is what will improve our credibility as a nation or people when it comes to visa application options.
How did you switch from media to hospitality industry?
Happily, I was born 40 years ago, precisely on March 29, 1985.
My life has been a demonstration of God’s goodness all through. I started my journey to school like every other child.
At 16, I was already through with secondary school: from Anwar-ul-Islam Model College, Agege, then to College of Journalism, Ogba and later Aditya College, Karnataka, India.
Of course, I was on radio, TV and print as a sports journalist/analyst and a writer; I was lucky to work with Complete Football magazine and Complete Sports. My dream then was to be a FIFA-licensed agent, but as I grew older, I realised I could do much more. So I developed other interests in affiliate marketing, blogging, and in recent years YouTube and content creation.
In my late teens and early twenties, I had begun developing interest in travel-related matters.
I could easily mention names of countries and their capital cities off hand. Gradually I began to hone my interest with experts in the industry. I was always ready to learn.
In no distant time, I became very skilled in travel matters, especially in the visa application aspect, that I can now comfortably earn from it.
But t tell you the truth, it was challenging at first because I was trying to make hay in a new terrain. I was a greenhorn. I needed to learn the ropes so that I could fit in. So worked hard and applied myself to the new challenge; I made sure I gobbled up all the facts I needed to equip myself with in a rather vast travel industry that requires a lot of patience, discipline and networking. Today, looking back, I can say the risk I took in leaving my writing job to build a career in the travel industry was well worth it.
How do you multitask, seeing that you seem to have experience in different areas of specialisation?
It has not been difficult because of the background I have in journalism and media.
While in active journalism, I learned about setting targets and meeting them. Not just meeting targets, but meeting them on time. Any journalist who knows their onions will tell you that meeting deadlines helps to build their levels of focus and discipline.
Those attributes have helped me in shaping every other thing I have done in other spheres, be it in affiliate marketing, blogging and content creation for YouTube and other online platforms.
