Nigeria Entry Requirements

Nigeria Entry Requirements determine all the rules that travelers wishing to visit Nigeria must follow for a hassle-free entry. These requirements specify the documentation that must be obtained prior to the planned trip. Among the most essential and mandatory documents are a valid passport and a Nigerian visa. A passport that one must hold for a trip to Nigeria cannot expire for a minimum of 6 months from the intended arrival date in the country.

The Nigeria visa policy indicates types of visas that are required from certain travelers according to their given nationalities, desired length of stay in Nigeria, and their travel purposes.

At the moment, around 60 different nationalities do not need to have a visa to visit Nigeria for various periods of stay. Citizens of most African countries can enjoy unlimited visa exemption for Nigeria under certain freedom of movement agreements.

Travelers from around 120 countries can also speed up their visa application process by applying for an e-Visa. This alternative will allow them to avoid completing extensive paperwork on arrival in Nigeria. Instead, they can handle all the formalities online and visit the nearest Nigerian Embassy just to collect the approved e-Visa.

Additionally, there are around 45 different countries whose nationals need to obtain a regular visa upon an Embassy appointment regardless of the travel reason.

Currently, Nigeria has no visa bans on any country in the world.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Government has also imposed some additional travel restrictions, such as mandatory online registration for the pre-departure health form. Moreover, depending on vaccination status, travelers may need to meet other entry requirements, e.g., provide a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test result.

Read on to find out more information on the current Nigerian entry and travel requirements. Please, however, note that these regulations may change at short notice.

Who can enter Nigeria?

Nigeria welcomes both vaccinated and non-vaccinated travelers. Depending on the vaccination status, some requirements to enter the country may differ.

Documents check-list for entering Nigeria

• valid passport
• vaccination certificate (only if vaccinated)
• PCR negative test result (only if unvaccinated)
• Nigerian visa
• pre-departure online health declaration
• travel insurance (optional)

Testing, Vaccination, and Quarantine Requirements

Testing requirements

Fully vaccinated in-bound passengers no longer need to carry out a PCR test. They are not required to take post-arrival tests either.

Non-vaccinated or non-fully-vaccinated passengers must provide a PCR test taken within 48 hours before their departure. The test certificate must be uploaded via the online travel portal.

The evidence of the negative test result may be checked at any time throughout the entire trip. Only PCR tests are acceptable. Travelers also need to submit a copy of the permit to travel certificate. The document will be issued after completing the pre-departure health declaration.

Partially or unvaccinated travelers will also need to book and cover the cost of another PCR test that must be performed on Day 2 of their arrival and another one taken on Day 7. Evidence of booking the tests via the Nigeria International Travel Portal will be checked upon arrival.

Vaccination requirements

Travelers arriving in Nigeria do not need to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Nevertheless, a holder of a Covid vaccination certificate will neither need to present a negative PCR test result nor need to undergo post-arrival quarantine.

Vaccines recognized by the Nigerian Government for international travel:

• Moderna
• Janssen
• Astra Zeneca
• Pfizer

Important: To be recognized as fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it must have elapsed at least 14 days from receiving the second vaccination dose.

Quarantine requirements

Non-vaccinated or non-fully-vaccinated travelers must undergo a 7-day self-isolation after arrival in Nigeria until they receive a negative Covid-19 test on Day 7 of their stay.

Traveling from Nigeria

The Nigerian authorities did not implement any specific exit requirements. Nevertheless, before leaving Nigeria, travelers should familiarize themselves with the entry rules applicable to the country of their next destination, including testing, vaccination, and visa requirements.

Traveling to Nigeria

When traveling to Nigeria, you should still take precautions since the country continues to record new positive coronavirus cases. Depending on your vaccination status, you may need to meet different entry requirements. Fully vaccinated in-bound travelers do not need to have a negative PCR test to enter Nigeria. Neither are they required to take Covid-19 testing upon arrival.

Those passengers who are non-vaccinated or non-fully-vaccinated are still obliged to take a PCR test 48 hours prior to departure and undergo post-arrival PCR tests on Days 2 and 7 at their own expense. Additionally, all travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, must complete the health declaration.

Do also remember to check visa requirements for your nationality and obtain a Nigerian visa if required.

Entry Rules for Children

Starting from April 2022, children aged 17 and younger are no longer required to perform pre-departure or on-arrival PCR tests.

All travelers, regardless of their age, including children, must complete the pre-boarding online health declaration.

Parents or legal guardians must also handle all visa formalities on behalf of their underage travel companions.

Transit through Nigeria

All passengers transiting through Nigeria must remember to register online and complete the pre-boarding health declaration. The declaration is mandatory for all transit passengers, regardless of vaccination status, including travelers not exiting the airport tranist zone or travelers making a layover (passing through immigration).

Moreover, all travelers should check the requirements applicable to the country of their final destination, e.g., visa requirements.

Particular airlines can also have imposed their own transit rules to minimize the danger of coronavirus contraction. Contact your airlines directly for more precise information.

Visa requirements

Visa-exempt countries

The Nigerian immigration policy states that citizens of certain countries are entitled to visa-free travel to Nigeria. The permitted duration of their stay may vary between nationalities.

Among the visa-exempt travelers are nationals of most African countries who can enjoy the freedom of movement for an unlimited period of time.

Moreover, holders of the service category or diplomatic passports from China, South Africa, Brazil, and Namibia can also visit Nigeria without a visa.

Holders of a Chinese public affairs passport may maximally stay in Nigeria for 30 days without a visa. In turn, persons who are in possession of an expired Nigerian passport may be granted a visa-exempt stay until they will renew their passports.

The following list includes all visa-free countries whose nationals may travel to Nigeria without a visa:

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Chad
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Liberia
• Mali
• Niger
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Togo

Nigeria e-Visa

Nigeria e-Visa is an online visa alternative that covers tourism, business, and tranist purposes. The system was implemented by the Nigerian authorities to speed up the visa application process for applicants from certain countries.

There are three types of Nigerian electronic visas, depending on travelers' needs, which may be issued either as single or multiple-entry visas.

Eligible applicants can simply fill out the short online form, cover the processing fee and receive the pre-approval of their e-Visa via email. As the last step, an applicant must appoint an Embassy visit and collect an e-Visa in person.

Nigeria Embassy or Consular Visa

Currently, nationals of around 45 countries must obtain an embassy or consular visa to travel to Nigeria regardless of their planned length of stay or travel purpose to Nigeria.

Depending on the traveler's nationality and given travel purpose, there are various types of visas. Travelers need to make a consular or embassy appointment to start a visa application process. It may be necessary to submit a few supporting documents and cover the service fee.

Since the traditional visa processing may take up to several weeks, one should apply for a visa well in advance of the intended trip to Nigeria.

The full list of countries that are required to obtain an embassy or consular visa goes as follows:

• Aland Islands
• American Samoa
• Anguilla
• Antarctica
• Aruba
• Bermuda
• Bonaire
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Christmas Island
• Cocos Islands
• Cook Islands
• Curacao
• Falkland Islands
• Faroe Islands
• French Guiana
• French Polynesia
• Gibraltar
• Greenland
• Guadeloupe
• Guam
• Guernsey
• Isle of Man
• Jersey
• Martinique
• Mayotte
• Montserrat
• New Caledonia
• Niue
• Norfolk Island
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Pitcairn Islands
• Puerto Rico
• Reunion
• Saint Barthelemy
• Saint Helena
• Saint Martin
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Sint Maarten
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Svalbard and Jan Mayen
• Tokelau
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United Kingdom
• United States Virgin Islands
• Wallis and Futuna

Visa on Arrival

There are around 20 countries whose nationals are permitted to obtain a visa on arrival in Nigeria at one of the border entry points. Among the eligible ones are most African countries.

A VoA can be granted for a maximally 90-day stay for either business, transit, or tourism purpose.

Travelers need to wait in an immigration queue and follow all the visa procedures, including filling out some paperwork and covering the visa fee.

Those travelers who are eligible for e-Visa are highly recommended to choose the online visa application to save a lot of time that they would need to spend when waiting for a VoA.

Health Declaration

All travelers are required to register via the NITP and fill out the online health declaration via the online portal. All the provided data, including contact details, residential address, travel details, and health information, must be correct and up-to-date. If there is any change in the traveler's health status since the moment of completing the declaration, they must notify about it the health officials upon arrival in the country.

Travel Insurance

The authorities of Nigeria did not make it mandatory for foreign travelers to have travel or medical insurance. Nevertheless, every traveler should consider purchasing one that will cover all potential expenses in case of unexpected situations during the trip, e.g., stolen belongings, canceling the trip due to an emergency, and many others.

So before traveling to Nigeria, make sure you have travel insurance in place. It is recommendable that the plan should also cover Covid-19 treatment costs.