The Japa wave in 2022 has been extremely high, with thousands of people traveling and more preparing to leave the country next year. As popular as Japa appears to be, most people are unaware of the steps to take or are misled by the misconception that it is extremely expensive. Here are five safe and relatively inexpensive ways to obtain a visa and travel outside of Nigeria.
Study Abroad: In recent years, this has become one of the best ways to leave Nigeria’s shores. The majority of your friends and family members who have recently traveled abroad used this method. It’s easier to get accepted to study in a foreign country than to get accepted as a resident. Countries such as France, Germany, Norway, Canada offer free/cheap education and student visa for undergraduates. Academic scholarships are available for lots of countries as you can search online based on course, country, and fees.
Get a job overseas: If you know someone who lives abroad, he or she can easily help you find a good job there. It is usually easier to go through someone you know and trust in order to avoid falling into the hands of human traffickers, who may force you into prostitution or other things you don’t want to do.
Some common job opportunities Nigerians do when they travel abroad include house-sitting job, bartender, cook, tour guide, hostel worker, factory worker and farm-worker. Furthermore, if you study abroad, finding a job will not be difficult, especially in developed countries.
Attend Conferences: You can also travel outside Nigeria by attending events and conferences. Thousands of conferences take place yearly in countries like Canada, Japan, Australia, USA and UK. Lots of folks have traveled out through conferences. If you are a security or IT professional, you can apply online to get out.
Leave Nigeria as an Investor: You can leave Nigeria legally by getting an investor visa which allows you to live or get citizenship in countries like UK, US, UAE, St Kitts and Nevis, Cyprus, Maldives, Malta, if you invest a certain amount of money in business (usually $50k and above). You can also buy properties in these countries to get a permanent residency status.
Leave Nigeria as a Professional: Work visa allows one to work as a non-immigrant, based on experience, age, education, job offers, fields of work (IT, Healthcare, Arts). Think of any country and search for jobs in your field of work on sites such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor. If you’re a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional, you can get a Tier 2 (Health and Care) visa with a job offer from the NHS or related organization. You can also get a domestic employee visa if your employer is migrating to a foreign country like the US, UK, UAE. If you are a pastor/missionary, you can get a temporary religious worker visa for countries such United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Netherlands. Get non-immigrant visa as an individual with extraordinary ability or achievement, individual or team athlete, or member of an entertainment group (with international recognition of sustained performance).
