Namibia imposes visa restrictions on U.S., UK, and 21 other European countries
Namibia has announced plans to implement visa-free restrictions for the U.S.A, Canada, the UK, and 21 other European nations which have failed to reciprocate visa exemption efforts.
The move affects some selected Asian countries as well.
The directive will mean that citizens from any of the affected countries will be required to have visas to gain entry into the Southern African country beginning in April 2025.
A statement from Namibia’s immigration ministry was quoted as saying, “Namibia has extended gestures of goodwill and favourable treatment to nationals of various countries. However, despite these efforts, certain nations have not reciprocated”.
“In light of this disparity, the government has deemed it necessary to implement a visa requirement to ensure parity and fairness in diplomatic interactions,” it further said.
Meanwhile, Britain's High Commissioner to Namibia, Charles Moore has indicated that his country respects Namibia's rights to impose new regulations.
He noted that the UK imposed some restrictions on Namibia last year due to an increased number of asylum seekers from the African country since 2016.
“[The UK] unfortunately imposed a visa regime on Namibia last year due to the number of asylum seekers we were receiving. That was impacting on our relationship with Namibia.”
“This constitutes an abuse of the provision to visit the UK for a limited period as non-visa nationals,” he was quoted.
