Junta-run Niger will restrict where Europeans can obtain a visa for the Sahel country in response to the “difficulties” it says Nigerien citizens face in obtaining visas from European embassies.
Since taking power in a coup in 2023, Niger’s military-run government has promoted nationalist politics and turned its back on the West in favour of ties with Russia.
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Before the junta came to power, Nigerien citizens could obtain visas to access the Schengen free movement area through France’s consulate in the capital Niamey.
Yet Niger’s relations with its former colonial ruler have turned especially frosty, with Niamey expelling France’s ambassador.
In an internal note dated August 20, authenticated by AFP on Tuesday, the junta’s Foreign Minister, Bakary Yaou Sangare, complained that Nigerien citizens “continue to travel to neighbouring countries to complete the formalities of obtaining a visa”.
He said Niger had “submitted a request for European embassies present in Niamey be authorised to issue visas on site”, which, according to him, “remained unanswered”.
“From now on, the embassies of Niger in Geneva, Ankara and Moscow are the only ones authorised to issue entry visas to Niger for nationals of the following countries: Italy, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Belgium, the United Kingdom,” the minister said.
That move was “in application of the reciprocal principle”, he argued.
Applicants holding diplomatic or service passports could have their visa issued at Niger’s embassy in Brussels, he added.
Besides Russia, Niger has also sought closer ties with Turkey, Iran and China since the coup.
AFP