The terminal and control tower of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Travel planning

Nigeria Visa and Entry Requirements

You need a visa, and visa on arrival has been abolished. There are three separate online forms and a compulsory yellow fever certificate.

Country Nigeria
Guide Visa and Entry
Reviewed 28 October 2026
Sources 6
Length 2 min read

Credit Sm105, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Last reviewed 28 October 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

On 17 May 2026 the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On 20 October 2026 Nigeria reported a confirmed case in Abuja, in a person who had flown in from Uganda, and screening at airports, seaports and land borders has been tightened. Expect temperature checks and questions about your travel history on arrival.

The visa application itself, submitted through the Nigeria Immigration Service online portal before you travel.
Landing and exit cards, which foreigners now complete online: the landing card before boarding a flight to Nigeria, the exit card before leaving. You may be asked for them at the airport or another border point.
The Nigeria Health Declaration Form, completed online before boarding and free of charge. Transit passengers, returning Nigerians and aircrew 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 or leave 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 under nine months and adults over sixty 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, and what to declare

Gifts of drink and secondhand clothes are what most often catch ordinary luggage. Read this before you pack.

It is illegal to import beer and stout, bottled water including mineral water, and soft drinks.
Bird's eggs, other than hatching eggs, and secondhand clothing are also on the prohibition list.
Declare cash over 10,000 US dollars or the equivalent when you arrive. Airlines hand out the currency declaration form before landing.
Declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty. The Nigeria Customs Service revises its prohibition list from time to time, so check the current version.

Sources

This guide is general orientation, not legal, medical or governmental advice. Entry, health and safety requirements change frequently and depend on your nationality, your route and your dates. Always confirm with the relevant authority before you travel.