How to Apply for Nigeria Visa on Arrival Online in Minutes

You can apply for Nigeria visa on arrival online and obtain a permit to travel to travel Nigeria without any visit to the embassy.

Nigeria visa on arrival is a short visit visa issued to foreign nationals at any international airport in Nigeria.

The visa has a validity period of 30 days, though you may request for an extension if there’s need to stay in Nigeria beyond 30 days.

There are several reasons why you may want to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival instead of applying through the Nigerian embassy or consulate:

• You are traveling on short notice and don’t have enough time to deal with the Nigerian embassy.
• There is no embassy of Nigeria in your country of residence.
• Other reasons like cost consideration, etc.

Now let’s talk about the requirements before jumping to the application procedure.

Before you apply for Nigeria visa on arrival, you must first have the following requirements (documents) intact.

This will make the application process straightforward. Your visa will not be approved if any of these documents is missing or not uploaded in the right format:

• Passport copy: You must have a valid passport that does not expire in 6 months from your date of entry to Nigeria.
• Passport photo: You must have a recent passport-size photo not older than 3 months.
• Round trip flight itinerary: A round trip flight itinerary is also required to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival. It may or may not be a confirmed ticket.
• Letter of self-introduction/application: You need to write a letter addressed to the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service in Abuja, Nigeria, introducing yourself and requesting for a visa on arrival.
• Letter of invitation to Nigeria: You’ll also need a letter of invitation to Nigeria from a host/company in Nigeria, accepting full immigration responsibility for your visit.
• CAC certificate: This is the certificate of incorporation of the company inviting you to Nigeria.
• Contact/Hotel in Nigeria: You also need to have ready your contact address in Nigeria (where you will be staying).

All documents will be uploaded during the online application process, so you should have them ready in the right sizes and formats before you start your online application.

Documents can be in picture format (JPEG, PNG) – 600×600 pixels or PDF. They should generally be less than 1MB.

We strongly advise that only the passport size photo should be in picture format (600x600px). The rest should be in PDF.

Documents should be clear enough, especially the passport data page. If you’re snapping it, be sure your flashlight is off. And make sure all the details on the page are visible enough, especially the passport number.

You will probably need help to obtain the following documents in order to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival:

• Letter of invitation to Nigeria
• CAC certificate
• Letter of self-introduction (template)

You may order for these documents here.

We will prepare these supporting documents and deliver to you via email within 60 minutes. 

You can instantly download the letter of self-introduction templates in Word format and edit/enter your details as applicable.  Please be sure to sign your letter of self-introduction. If your signature is missing, it could lead to visa rejection.

The letter of invitation and CAC certificate will be sent to you via email within 60 minutes of purchase.

Once you have received these documents, you can then apply for Nigeria visa on arrival by filling the online application form and uploading the required documents.

Once you have prepared your documents, it’s time to submit your online application. Follow the steps below to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival:

• Visit the Nigeria visa on arrival application portal (https://voa.immigration.gov.ng)
• Click Sign In

• Choose Sign in using Google (if you have a Gmail account) or Sign up using OpenID to use any other email account.

Once you successfully sign in, you will see a dashboard that looks like this:

• Click Create new application button
• Choose your Nationality, Class of Visa and Passport Type:

Note that visa class options available will depend on your nationality. It is mostly business class for non-African passport holders.

Also the applicable visa fee will be shown once you’ve selected your nationality and passport type.

• Click Continue to proceed
• Enter your biodata correctly and click Continue

• Enter your travel information and click Continue

• Enter your contact/hotel details in Nigeria and click Continue

• Upload your documents (passport data page, letter of invitation, introduction letter, CAC certificate, flight itinerary) and click Continue

Now a preview of your application will com up like this:

• If everything is okay, you may proceed with payment of the visa fee, otherwise click Edit to make any corrections.
• You may choose Submit & Pay Now (if you want to proceed with payment right away) or Submit & Pay Later (if you want to submit the application now but pay the visa fee on later.

Note that your visa will NOT be processed unless the visa fee is paid. The best time to pay the visa fee is 3-5 days to your travel date.

Once payment is successful, your visa will be processed and a letter of approval sent to your email within 48 hours (two business days).

Also be sure to download the payment receipt and acknowledgement slip after payment.

That’s all on how to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival. Here’s how the mail you will receive and letter of approval will look like:

Once you receive this letter, you now qualify to board an airline to Nigeria.

On arrival in Nigeria, you’ll then be ushered into the Visa on Arrival (VoA) Longue where you will do some biometrics capturing and receive the actual visa (typically takes 15-30 minutes depending on queue).

There are no other payments at the airport.

Be extremely careful and make sure you cross-check your documents/info when you apply for Nigeria visa on arrival.

Here are some mistakes that may cause the rejection of your Nigeria visa on arrival application:

• Blurry documents: Your uploaded documents MUST be clear and legible enough, especially your international passport. It is only the data page that is required (that is the page containing your info and photo). Make sure your name, passport number, signature and other details are all clear and intact.
• Missing/incomplete or wrong documents: You MUST upload all required documents properly without any mismatch. That is passport data page, letter of invitation, letter of introduction, CAC certificate and round-trip flight itinerary. Also be sure that letters of invitation and introduction are signed. Importantly, the CAC document should be Certificate of Incorporation and NOT Business Name Registration. You can obtain the correct documents to apply for Nigeria visa on arrival here.
• Wrong information: Confirm that the information you fill correspond with the documents uploaded, e.g. passport info.

There’s no need to panic. As long as you have the correct documents and fill the online application correctly, your visa will surely be approved.

If, unfortunately, your visa is rejected, you will receive a mail with the reasons for rejection so you can make amends and reapply.

After applying for Nigeria visa on arrival, your application goes through four stages before an approval letter can be sent to you within 48 hours (two business days).

These stages are: Application submitted, Payment done, Vetted, Approved/Rejected.

To check the status of your application, follow the steps below:

1. Visit the Nigeria visa on arrival portal; point to Visa on Arrival on the menu and choose Program Status.

Or you can simply visit the visa on arrival status page directly here.

2. Enter your Nigeria visa on arrival application number and reference number in the relevant boxes and click Search Record:

Your application number and reference number are found on the application form, payment receipt, acknowledgement slip and letter of approval:

Once your record is found on the immigration portal using your application number and reference number, it will bring up your visa on arrival status report containing your personal information, application information, processing information and payment information:

If you can see your information like in the image above and the visa status reads Approved, then your visa on arrival approval letter is authentic. If the visa is rejected or still being vetted, you should also see it on the immigration portal, including the payment status.

You can also print out your acknowledgement slip and payment receipt on this page.

The Hassle-Free Way to Get Nigeria Visa on Arrival

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of preparing documents, filing application and obtaining an approval by yourself, we can help you handle your Nigeria visa on arrival application completely.

Here’s How it Works:

1. Place your order for Nigeria Visa on Arrival Processing ($97 USD)
2. Send your details (flight itinerary, passport data page, and recent passport photo) to us via email to: hello@destinali.com. You may also send us the documents via WhatsApp: +2349155901398.
3. We prepare all required documents (letter of introduction, letter of invitation to Nigeria, CAC certificate of host, flight itinerary, passport copy, etc.), and submit your visa application to the Nigeria Immigration Service.
4. You receive a link to the Immigration portal to confirm your details and pay the actual visa fee.
5. Receive your Visa on Arrival (VoA) Approval Letter via email within two business days.
6. Verify the letter of approval received on the immigration portal using your application number and reference number to confirm its authenticity.
7. Make printouts of your documents.
8. Arrive at the airport in Nigeria, enroll for biometrics and get the actual visa at no other cost again.