By Ebun Sessou

Consul-General of Republic of China in Lagos, Mr. Chao Kiaoliang, has assured Nigerians of smooth issuance  of visas to applicants who would  want to travel to China for either business or leisure .

He disclosed this at the opening of the 9th China Application Visas Centre in Lagos, saying the visa centre would enhance effective and efficient service to visa applicants especially Nigerians.

While noting that Chinese Embassies and Consulates General have been working hard to improve the quality of their visa services, he lamented the constraint in staff strength who have   become overwhelmed with increasing number  of visa applications.

According to him, more Chinese visa application service centres have been established in many countries, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceanic and North America to provide quality Chinese visa services.

He said the Chinese Visa Application Service centre is a commercial service organisation registered in accordance with local laws and regulations, recognised by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General to handle the daily routine of processing ordinary visa applications.

Mr. Chao Kiaoliang added that  the centre operates independently of diplomatic missions and is neither a branch nor an affiliated organ but  majors on receiving visa applications  and ensuring  the applications  meet Chinese government requirements for smooth processing in the various categories.

Meanwhile, Assistant Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Services, Mr. Ishaku Hamad, has called on Chinese Government to remove all bottlenecks so as to  avail Nigerians the opportunity of obtaining smooth visa applications to China.

He said Nigeria as a country will not relent in supporting any facility that would add value to the economy and ease the cost of doing business.

“The visa centre is one of the facilities that would remove unnecessary challenges  to  obtaining Visa to China.” he said.