Effective August 16, 2017, certain Nigerian Subject to Regularization (STR) visa holders will need to register with the relevant Nigerian regulatory authority prior to engaging in any productive work in Nigeria.

This directive order from the Nigerian Federal Executive Council (FEC) applies to regulated professions, including but not limited to Engineering, Information Technology, Medicine, and Accounting.

STR visa holders in a profession regulated in Nigeria must continue to register with the Nigerian Immigration Service to obtain a Combined Expatriate Card, and will now have to also register with the appropriate regulatory professional council to obtain a professional certification to engage in the profession in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Ministry of Interior will require companies to submit evidence of these professional certifications, along with the required monthly quota reports of expatriate employees.  These reports will be a condition for the grant of future expatriate quota numbers for local companies to employ foreign nationals.

Foster will continue to monitor changes to Nigerian immigration laws that impact expatriate assignments to Nigeria, and will make information about further developments available in future Immigration Updates© and on our firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.