On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Niger’s junta-led government announced restrictions on where European nationals can obtain visas to enter the country, citing difficulties faced by Nigerien citizens in securing Schengen visas, as reported by Africaninsider.com and authenticated by AFP (Web:0). In an internal note dated August 20, 2025, Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare stated that only Niger’s embassies in Geneva, Ankara, and Moscow are authorized to issue entry visas for nationals of Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, invoking the “reciprocal principle.” Diplomatic and service passport holders can obtain visas in Brussels (Web:0).
Since the July 2023 coup, Niger’s military government has shifted away from Western alliances, expelling France’s ambassador and fostering ties with Russia, Turkey, Iran, and China (Web:0, Web:4). Previously, Nigeriens accessed Schengen visas via France’s consulate in Niamey, but deteriorating relations with France have forced citizens to travel to neighboring countries for visa processing (Web:0). The junta’s nationalist policies, including revoking a 2015 anti-migration law (Web:3, Web:13), reflect efforts to assert sovereignty amid strained Western relations. X posts from @nazirou00227 (August 26, 2025) highlighted the policy, while @AfricaFolder noted regional concerns over visa access barriers, with 65% of Nigeriens reporting travel difficulties (Afrobarometer, 2025) (Post:4).
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