Nigerians India visa crackdown: Students paying 10,000 rupees quarterly just to avoid deportation
By: Abudu Olalekan
Nigerian students in India say they’re being hunted by police, charged unfair visa fees, and beaten in the streets. We spoke to those living in fear.
Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi. Pick a city. If you’re Nigerian right now, you’re probably looking over your shoulder.
Things have gotten heavy. Students and business owners across India are saying the same thing—the cops won’t leave them alone, the visa fees are bleeding them dry, and nobody in Abuja seems to be picking up the phone.
It started with whispers in hostel rooms. Then came the videos. A Nigerian man on the ground while locals throw stones at him. Another clip showing police dragging students out of their apartments. These aren’t just rumors anymore. Reportersroom spoke to several Nigerians who say life in India has turned into a nightmare of paperwork, paranoia, and police raids.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has had enough. They staged a protest at the Indian High Commission in Abuja last week, waving placards and demanding answers. Abubakar Mallawa, their Vice President for Special Duties, looked tired when he addressed journalists. He said they’ve been getting distress calls from Mumbai, Delhi, everywhere. Students are allegedly facing mass arrests, landlords kicking them out just for being Nigerian, and shops owned by Nigerians getting padlocked by authorities.
“They’re treating us like criminals,” Mallawa said. His group issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government. If nothing changes, they promised to “escalate advocacy nationwide”—diplomatic speak for “we’re about to make this very loud.”
But here’s where it gets weird. While NANS is shouting, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) says they haven’t heard a thing.
“No, I am not aware,” said Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NIDCOM’s Head of Media. “Apart from you, who raised the matter, students have not complained about that to us.”
He added that Nigeria can’t exactly tell India how to run their immigration system anyway. “In international diplomacy, you cannot beg them to reduce visa fees.” Fair point, maybe. But try telling that to a physiotherapy student in Rajasthan who just got told she needs 10,000 rupees—about N146,000—every three months just to keep her visa valid.
Abisola Williams knows the struggle too well. She’s the Education Coordinator for the Association of African Students in India, Rajasthan chapter, and she’s watching her people drown in bureaucracy. “India does not grant permanent residency to international students,” she explained matter-of-factly. “It’s either you’re a student or a professional with a work visa. As for Nigerians, we have to renew our visas every year.”
Actually, that’s not quite right. Some are paying every three months. One student in Delhi—she asked us not to use her name because she’s terrified of police retaliation—broke down the math. “Other students from other African countries do not pay for it. We were told it was an agreement between the Indian and Nigerian governments.” She claims Zimbabweans get eight months before renewal. Ghanaians pay maybe 500 rupees. But Nigerians? 10,000 rupees every quarter. “This is just unfair.”
She never knew about this fee back in Nigeria when she was processing her visa. Nobody mentioned it. She only found out after landing, after renting an apartment, after enrolling in classes. Then the police started showing up at her door because her paperwork was “irregular.”
And the police presence is real. Sources tell Reportersroom that some Nigerians have actually become police informants, snitching on their own countrymen for cash. A diplomat in India spoke to us anonymously about it. “Fellow Nigerians report one another to the police when they have disputes. They become informants because the authorities give them a share.” When arrests happen, there’s allegedly extortion money changing hands, with informants taking a cut.
Why the crackdown though? Look at the numbers. Indian agencies arrested 660 foreign nationals for drug crimes in 2024. Nigerians accounted for 106 of those arrests—second only to Nepal. Between 2019 and 2024, India deported 2,356 Nigerians. The numbers quadrupled from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in 2023-2024.
Is guilt by association fair? Probably not. But it’s happening.
Former ambassadors are watching this spiral and they’re worried. Sola Abolurin, who served as a career diplomat and now heads the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, thinks the Foreign Ministry needs to summon Nigeria’s ambassador to India immediately. “We also need to know the reasons for these attacks,” he told Reportersroom. He wants a joint investigation, Nigerian and Indian officials sitting down together to figure out why citizens are getting beaten in the streets.
Dr. Yemi Farounbi, former Ambassador to the Philippines, agrees but adds some real talk. “When you are in another man’s land, you must obey their laws and respect their culture.” He acknowledges that yeah, some Nigerians might be messing up, but that’s no reason to punish everyone. “Because of a few deviants, the host society may generalise, but that is not a true reflection of Nigerians.”
Farounbi suspects there’s more going on beneath the surface. Economics. Jealousy. Race. “Some may see Nigerians as taking opportunities or view them through racial bias. Nigerians work hard and often succeed, and that can attract envy.”
Meanwhile, efforts to get comments from the Indian High Commission in Nigeria went nowhere fast. Their spokesperson, Shri Narendra Garg, wasn’t having it. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I am not the person who will answer these questions.” The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Abuja didn’t pick up our calls either.
So here we are. Thousands of Nigerians stuck in a cycle of expensive paperwork, police intimidation, and stone-throwing mobs. Some are getting deported. Others are just trying to finish their physiotherapy degrees without getting arrested. And back home, the government agencies are pointing fingers at each other while students empty their bank accounts every three months just to stay legal.
Something’s gotta give. But nobody seems to know when.
