Types of Nigerian Visas for Foreign Visitors

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June 16, 2025

This guide is for foreign visitors, workers, investors and Nigerians by birth who hold another passport and want to enter Nigeria. It explains the main visa groups under the Nigeria Visa Policy, which the government launched on 4 February 2020 and which increased the number of visa classes from six to 79. Nigerian citizens applying for visas to other countries should read our guides on application timelines and documents.

The Main Groups at a Glance

Group	Classes	Stay	Who it is for
Visa-free or exempt	F1A to F1D	Varies. Up to 90 days for several groups	ECOWAS citizens, nationals of Cameroon and Chad under visa abolition agreements, holders of certain official travel documents, and diplomatic or official passport holders from listed countries
Short visit visas	24 classes, F2A to F9A	Up to 90 days	Tourism, business visits, transit, study tours, medical or religious travel and similar short stays
Temporary residence visas	36 classes, R1A to R11	Residence for up to 2 years	Expatriate employees and their dependants, and other longer temporary stays
Permanent residence visas	15 classes, such as N1A to N6D	Residence for a minimum of five years, and indefinite for some classes	Spouses of Nigerians, investors, highly skilled migrants, retirees and dependants

Short Visit Visas

Short visit visas are the ones most visitors need. The Nigeria Immigration Service lists them in two groups depending on how they are processed.

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Processed through	Examples
e-Visa (online)	Tourism (F5A), business single entry (F4A) and multiple entry (F4B), visiting single entry (F6A), transit (F3B), academic exchange (F7H), study tour (F7G), sports (F7E), creative arts (F7F), emergency or relief work (F7K), and returning holders of foreign passports who are Nigerians by birth (F9A and F9B for accompanied minors)
Embassy or high commission	Visiting multiple entry (F6B), medical tourism (F7C), religious tourism (F7D), journalist (F7A), cleric (F7B), humanitarian services (F7J), staff of NGOs and INGOs (F7M and F7L), frequently travelled executives (F4C) and transit without visa (F3A)

The e-visa route covers short visits of up to three months. The applicant applies online and obtains a travel authorisation letter before departure. Under the policy, every visa class, including e-visas, requires biometric data capture at a Nigerian mission or a designated visa application centre before it is issued.

Visa on Arrival

The policy sets out a visa on arrival for certain travellers, including African Union passport holders and some diaspora categories, for short visits such as tourism, business or emergency relief. It is available only at international airports, not at land borders. Because arrangements have changed since the policy was launched, confirm on the Nigeria Immigration Service portal whether you qualify before you fly.

Work Visas and Permits

Temporary Work Permit, F8A: a single-entry visa of up to 90 days for specialised services, issued only at Nigerian missions after a prior authority letter from the Comptroller General of Immigration.
Temporary Work Permit, R11: multiple entry for up to six months, not renewable, also issued only at missions.
Subject to Regularisation (STR): now part of the temporary residence classes R2A to R2E, for expatriate employees. Dependants have their own separate classes.

A visitor visa does not allow you to work. The tourist, business-visit and similar short visit classes are for visits only, and some exempt categories, such as the Cameroon and Chad visa abolition class, are expressly not for work or business.

Permanent Residence Visas

Class	For
N1A	Spouse of a Nigerian citizen
N2A and N2B	Nigerians by birth who gave up citizenship, and their spouses
N3A to N3E	Investors, by size and sector of business
N4A	Highly skilled immigrants
N5A and N5B	Retirees
N6A to N6D	Dependants of permanent residence holders

Documents often include a passport with at least six months of validity, photographs, proof of relationship for family classes, proof of financial capacity for investor and retirement classes, and a police clearance. Some classes also need medical insurance or a medical certificate. Each class has its own list, so read the page for your class on the Nigeria Immigration Service site.

How to Choose and Apply

Decide what you will do in Nigeria: visit, work, invest or settle.
Find that purpose in the class list on the Nigeria Immigration Service website.
Check whether the class is processed online or through a Nigerian embassy or high commission.
Collect the documents listed for your class, with certified translations where needed.
Pay the fee and complete biometrics where requested.
Wait for the visa or authorisation letter, and carry it with your passport when you travel.

A Hypothetical Example

This is an illustration, not a real case. A Nigerian-born engineer who now holds a foreign passport wants to visit family for three weeks. His class is likely the returning holders of foreign passports visa (F9A), processed through the e-visa route. A friend with a British passport plans a two-week business trip with meetings only, so a business visa (F4A for a single entry) fits. Neither visa lets them take a job. If the friend later accepts a role in Nigeria, the employer would need to arrange the appropriate work or residence class first.