The extension of time by the Ministry is to afford companies sufficient time to migrate to its online platform, www.ecitibiz.interior.gov.ng. To do this, applicants are required to upload the following documents:

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Expatriate Quota (EQ) approval(s) – These should include the Establishment Grant and all other approvals issued from 2008 till date
• Business Permit (BP)
• Other key information on the organization, such as RC number, address of the organization, status of the organization and contact details
• Expatriate Monthly Returns – These should be for three months preceding the date of the upload.

The online portal is designed to generate EQ, BP and other application forms, and would have online payment functionality for ease of payment by users. The portal will also serve as a centralized and interactive database for all applications and services provided by the Citizenship and Business Department of the FMI.
 
The proposed migration is a welcome development. However, the expectation is that the FMI will address all the teething problems identified during the extended transition period, to ensure a seamless operation when the portal goes live in September 2018. Affected organizations are on their part encouraged to take advantage of the extended migration timespan, to promptly update their details on the online portal. The Ministry’s Customer Care Unit can be contacted on info@ecitibiz.interior.gov.ng or +234(0)9-462-1505 for prompt resolution of issues.
 

For further enquiries on the above, please contact:

Wole Obayomi

ng-fmtaxenquiries@ng.kpmg.com