Sweden Visa : Documents submitted for visa applications in Nigeria are suspect since they are often bought with bribery
According to a visa application denial letter, Swedish authorities are refusing to give Schengen visas to some Nigerians due to the high level of corruption and fabrication involved in procuring immigration documents in Nigeria.
Twitter user, Balewa (@aprilbox), on Saturday, tweeted a document detailing reasons why the Swedish government denied a Nigerian applicant an entry visa to their country for tourism purposes for 14 days despite having the wherewithal to fund his trip.
“The Embassy also wants to highlight that trade in forged documents by private individuals and corruption in connection with the issuing of documents by the authorities is very common in Nigeria,” reads the visa denial document.
The user stated that the visa application was submitted on July 10 to the Lagos VFS office located at Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; however, the date of the denial letter could not be verified.
“Available country information indicates that the possession of a Nigerian id-document, even certified ones, does not guarantee the correct identity of a person,” asserted the Swedish embassy while noting that driving licence, birth certificates and passports were documents that were easily and cheaply forged.
“Many businesses specialize in issuing forged documents, and it is neither difficult nor expensive to obtain, for example a forged driving licence or other documents that in turn can be used to obtain for example a passport or birth certificate. According to investigations, there is a particularly brisk trade in forged documents in Benin City in Edo state (Country of origin information report Nigeria, March 2021, p. 42)” stressed the Swedish authorities.
The applicant was also advised that there was a "high risk" that they would remain in Sweden after their visa expired because of the continuous socioeconomic turmoil in Nigeria and their inability to provide evidence that they were firmly established there. The applicant's bank balance was not considered "movable assets," which was one of the reasons they were denied a visa.
“Bank statements alone cannot prove that you are well established since a bank balance is also considered movable assets, and does therefore not tie you to your home country. “The Embassy concludes that against this background, especially considering the general socioeconomic situation in Nigeria, you have failed to show that you are well established in your home country,” wrote the Swedish government. “Your application for a Schengen entry visa is refused.”
The Swedish embassy in Nigeria is closed on weekends, so we couldn't immediately reach anyone there for comment.