The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to reciprocate the United States’ new visa policy, which mandates Nigerian applicants to disclose their social media usernames and handles from the past five years on the DS-160 visa application form, as confirmed by a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 18, 2025.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, via its official X account, emphasized that omitting social media details could lead to visa denial and future ineligibility, a policy aimed at enhancing national security through tighter vetting. Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated, “What you mandate our nationals to do, we will also mandate your citizens applying for our visa to do,” noting that Nigeria was briefed in advance and will impose similar requirements on U.S. citizens seeking Nigerian visas.
Ebienfa revealed that an inter-agency meeting involving the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and the National Intelligence Agency will determine the best response, stressing the principle of visa reciprocity. The policy, an expansion of a 2019 U.S. rule initially targeting student visa applicants, has sparked mixed reactions online. Observers note the move reflects Nigeria’s push to assert diplomatic parity, though concerns linger about administrative capacity to implement reciprocal measures effectively.
