Launching of the Revised Handbook on Expatriate Quota Administration 2022

On the 31^st of August 2022, the Nigerian Ministry of Interior released a circular informing the public of a revised Handbook on Expatriate Quota Administration for 2022 which had been published on the ECitibiz portal. There were notable changes made to the fees and charges schedules required in obtaining Business permits and Expatriate Quotas in Nigeria.

Formerly, a company must have a minimum share capital of Ten million (10,000,000) shares to be able to apply for business permit and expatriate quota positions. However, the revised handbook has increased the minimum share capital requirement for companies seeking to apply for business permit to One Hundred Million (100,000,000) shares making it more restrictive for companies to obtain them.

The Handbook also makes it mandatory for the National Identification Number (NIN) of the expatriates and their Nigerian understudies to be reflected in the monthly returns filing (Monthly Returns are the reports on the utilization of the EQ issued to the Company. The reports usually contain information such as the nationality of the expatriates, when the expatriates arrive or exit Nigeria and where they reside in the country, and now their NINs). Consequently, all organizations granted EQ positions must ensure that their Expatriates and Nigerian Understudies obtain their National Identity Numbers.