For years, the visa application process for Nigerians seeking to travel abroad faced significant challenges. The absence of a coordinated federal framework allowed foreign missions in Nigeria to independently engage foreign companies for biometric data collection and document profiling, often bypassing Nigerian government oversight. This lack of transparency meant that visa requirements were sometimes concealed, foreign insurance services were imposed without choice, and refund policies were inconsistent.

As a result, many genuine visa applications were rejected, trust in the system declined, and the Nigerian government was often unfairly blamed for inefficiencies it did not control. Without proper collaboration and oversight, valuable travel opportunities were lost due to a fragmented and opaque process.

Asfaar.ng, Nigeria’s first indigenous visa application platform, was introduced to address these issues by creating a secure, transparent, and fully digital system for visa applications. Designed with the collaboration of multiple Nigerian ministries and agencies, the platform incorporates Nigeria’s National Identity Management data (NIN) from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), ensuring accurate identity verification, improved compliance and reducing fraud risks.

Capable of processing thousands of applications efficiently, Asfaar.ng guarantees that at every stage, from biometric capture to document verification is handled in a way that benefits both applicants and foreign missions. It promotes fairness in decision-making, eliminates hidden requirements, and provides reliable data for security and policy planning.

Beyond streamlining visa applications, Asfaar.ng offers a range of additional value-added services. These include centralised profiling of applicants and documents, a shared database to prevent redundant verification at airports, clear refund policies for rejected applications, and integration of travel-related data for enhanced security analysis.

The platform also enables Nigerians to plan and book travel arrangements from home, access policy guidelines in advance, and benefit from upcoming initiatives such as low-cost flight options. Through these innovations, Asfaar.ng is positioning itself as Nigeria’s trusted gateway to transparent, efficient, and traveller-friendly international mobility.