Nigeria Visa and Entry Requirements
- Country Nigeria
- Guide Visa and Entry
- Reviewed 20 August 2026
- Length 2 min read
Credit Sm105, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed 20 August 2026
Nigeria is the only country in this West African series that requires a visa from most visitors, and the paperwork does not stop at the visa. There are three separate online forms to complete before you fly, and a vaccination certificate you cannot enter without.
The visa, and the thing that changed
You must have a visa to enter Nigeria as a visitor, and you must get it before traveling. Holders of a valid Nigerian residence permit, the CERPAC or Green Card, do not need one.
Visa on arrival is no longer available. Every application goes through the online portal before travel, through the Nigeria Immigration Service. If your information about Nigeria is more than a couple of years old, this is the line that has changed.
Your passport must have an expiry date at least six months after the day you arrive.
Three forms, not one
Additional screening for Ebola, Bundibugyo virus, has been announced and may be implemented at entry points, including enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving from East and Central Africa. The World Health Organization has declared that outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
- The visa application itself, submitted through the Nigeria Immigration Service online portal before you travel.
- Landing and departure cards, which foreigners now complete online before entry and exit. You may be asked for them at the airport or another border point.
- The Nigeria Health Declaration Form, completed online before entering. Transit passengers must complete it too.
- You may be asked to take part in thermal screening and a travel history check on arrival.
Yellow fever, and an exemption at both ends
To enter Nigeria you must hold a certificate proving you have had a yellow fever vaccination. This is unconditional: it does not depend on where you have traveled from, which is how the rule works in Senegal.
Infants aged eight months or younger and adults aged sixty-one or older are exempt. An upper age exemption is unusual and worth knowing if you are traveling with an older relative.
What you may not bring in
The last of those catches ordinary luggage. Read it before you pack gifts.
- It is illegal to import beer, mineral water, soft drinks and sparkling wine.
- It is illegal to import fruits, vegetables, cereals and eggs.
- It is illegal to import textile fabrics, jewelry or precious metals.
- Declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.