Nigeria Visa on Arrival (2026): Discontinued — Use the e-Visa Instead

Nigeria visa on arrival has ended — here is what replaced it

If you were planning to pick up a Nigeria visa at the airport when you land, you need to know this first: Nigeria discontinued visa-on-arrival on 1 May 2025. In its place is a fully online e-Visa that you apply for before you travel. Turning up at a Nigerian airport expecting to buy a visa on arrival will no longer work — you could be refused boarding or entry. The good news is that the new system is faster and done entirely online.

Important (2025 change): Visa-on-arrival is no longer available. Nigeria now uses an e-Visa applied for online at evisa.immigration.gov.ng. Any visa-on-arrival approval issued before 1 May 2025 stopped being valid after 30 May 2025.

Honest note: RenewPapers is not the Nigeria Immigration Service and we do not issue visas. The official portal is evisa.immigration.gov.ng. What we do is help travellers choose the right e-Visa, prepare clean documents, and submit without the mistakes that cause delays.

What changed, in plain terms

Visa-on-arrival: gone. You can no longer get a visa at the point of entry.
e-Visa: in. You apply online before travel, across 13 short-visit visa types.
Fast. Approvals are usually issued within about 48 hours, emailed to you with a QR code.
No extensions. An e-Visa cannot be extended, so match it to your travel dates.
Digital landing & exit cards. Before you fly you complete an online landing card at lecard.immigration.gov.ng, and an exit card when you leave.
Overstay penalties. Since 1 September 2025 Nigeria charges a daily fee for overstaying, with longer overstays risking multi-year or permanent entry bans — so keep your dates accurate.

What to do now instead of visa on arrival

Apply for the right e-Visa online before you travel. Which one, and the exact documents, depend on your trip and where you are applying from:

Apply early. Even though approvals are quick, give yourself a week or two, make sure the name and passport number on the application exactly match your passport, and keep at least six months’ validity on the passport. Those three things prevent most queries.

Who still does not need a visa at all

ECOWAS passport holders (Ghana, Benin, Togo and other member states) travel to Nigeria visa-free.
Nigerian citizens, including dual citizens, do not use a visa — they enter and leave on a Nigerian passport. If that applies to you, see Nigeria visa for dual citizens and renewing a Nigerian passport abroad.

Not sure which e-Visa you now need?

Tell us your trip and where you are travelling from. We will confirm the right visa type, prepare your documents and submit the online application for you — so it is approved the first time.

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