In a bid to facilitate the smooth traveling of Nigerians to China for different purposes, visa centres are to be opened in major cities.
Chinese President, Xi Jinping
The Peoples Republic of China has concluded plans to open visa application centres in Abuja and Lagos to improve the service standards and fast-track the visa process.
The Deputy Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Lin Jing, said the Abuja centre would open for service on September 20, 2017 at the Churchgate Plaza.
He told journalists on Monday in Abuja that regular applicants would still apply for visa in advance on www.visaforchina.org, while diplomatic and official passport holders would submit their applications to the embassy.
Jing stated that the visa centres would submit the applications to the mission, which he said reserved the right to approve or reject them. He added that the visa centres, which would be run by VSF Global, would operate strictly as a commercial entity and charge fees as appropriate.
Responding to concerns about the high charges that may be imposed on applicants by the visa centre operators, the envoy said the firm must have consulted with their lawyers and factor in local situation before deciding their service charges.
“Basically, the duration for visa applications remains the same. Applicants are required to book appointments on the website and pay N14,000 visa fee and N17,260 service charge, which includes VAT,” the envoy explained.
Jing added, “After the opening of the centre, holders of diplomatic or official passports or applicants who qualify for the Chinese diplomatic, courtesy service visas or applicants applying for Hong Kong or Macau special administration region visa/entry permit still need to submit their applications directly to the Chinese Embassy.”