Nigeria
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa (over 220 million people) and the continent's largest economy, sitting on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa with land borders to Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. It is a federal republic of thirty-six states and a Federal Capital Territory, with the planned capital Abuja at the geographic centre and Lagos as the commercial hub and Africa's largest urban agglomeration. Nigeria is a remarkably plural society of several hundred ethnic groups and over five hundred languages, with English the official language alongside the widely spoken Nigerian Pidgin. The visa system runs on an e-Visa portal alongside a visa-on-arrival route for ECOWAS nationals and approved nationalities, and a yellow-fever vaccination certificate is mandatory at entry.
Also required: digital arrival card
Nigeria visa system overview
Nigeria requires visas for most foreign nationalities: the e-Visa portal at visa.immigration.gov.ng (operated by the Nigeria Immigration Service) is the standard online route for tourism and short business, and a Visa-on-Arrival pathway is available to ECOWAS citizens and a published list of nationalities under prior online approval — turning up without that prior approval is not the route. ECOWAS citizens also move under the regional free-movement protocol with reduced documentation. See the visa categories below for e-Visa, Visa-on-Arrival, ECOWAS, and long-stay (STR/CERPAC, Temporary Work Permit, Student) specifics. The yellow-fever vaccination certificate is mandatory across every category and is checked on arrival — without it, entry is refused. Lagos and Abuja are the main international gateways, alongside Port Harcourt and Kano.
Visa types
The standard online route for tourism, family visits, conferences, contract negotiations and short business meetings, filed at visa.immigration.gov.ng (the Nigeria Immigration Service portal) before travel. Documentation: passport scan with at least six months' validity and two blank pages, recent passport-style photograph, return or onward ticket, hotel booking or sponsor's address, the visa fee (which varies by nationality and is confirmed on the portal at application), valid yellow-fever vaccination certificate, and for business applicants a letter of invitation from the host company. Approval is delivered as a printable e-Visa to be presented at the airport.
Guides
Nigeria rewards visitors who anchor a trip on Lagos and one or two regional cultural cores — Abuja's planned federal capital, the Yoruba heartland's sacred sites, Cross River's carnival and highland retreat, or the Igbo south-east's markets and archaeology. Wildlife at Yankari and Sukur's UNESCO cultural landscape round out a country whose strongest global exports are its food, Nollywood and Afrobeats.
Nigeria travel guide →
The full guide — Lagos as islands, purpose-built Abuja, Obudu's highlands and Nollywood's engine.
Money in Nigeria →
The naira in practice — sensible exchange, real card and fintech coverage, and tipping norms.
Eating in Nigeria →
From suya skewers to the Nigeria-Ghana jollof rivalry — a cuisine explored from the street up.
Getting around Nigeria →
Domestic flights as the honest default between regions — and ride-apps for Lagos and Abuja.
Health & safety in Nigeria →
Yellow-fever certificate at entry, malaria planning, and how conditions genuinely vary by region.
Cities & planning
Regions
Embassies & missions
Asia · 1
Americas · 1
Frequently asked questions
Lagos is built across islands and lagoon-side districts connected by a small number of bridges, so travel time depends heavily on time of day and bridge traffic rather than distance — for some routes, especially to Tarkwa Bay and parts of Lekki, a water taxi is more reliable than a car.
Abuja was purpose-built starting in the early 1980s and became the capital in 1991, chosen for its central, ethnically neutral location as a more unifying seat of government than an already-overcrowded Lagos — the planned layout still shows in the city's wide boulevards and calmer traffic today.
For a genuine change of climate, yes — the plateau sits around 1,700 metres up and is noticeably cooler and drier than the Cross River lowlands, and the cable car ride up, the longest in West Africa, is as much the experience as anything at the top.
Planning a trip to Nigeria? Check what you need to enter and apply online in minutes.
Also required: digital arrival card
This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.