Nigeria digital nomad visa & residency (2026)

Effective 1 May 2025, the Nigeria Immigration Service replaced the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) system with a mandatory pre-approval e-Visa processed within 24–48 hours online; all eligible short-term visitors — including remote workers entering on business or tourist categories — must now use the portal. No dedicated digital nomad visa category was added.

Nigeria's Minister of Interior publicly announced the discontinuation of the Visa-on-Arrival scheme, citing national security concerns and the requirement for pre-travel vetting; travellers previously eligible for VoA — including many short-term remote workers — were directed to the forthcoming e-Visa portal.

The Nigeria Immigration Service unveiled a non-renewable 'Brown' CERPAC card granting permanent (indefinite) residency to qualifying foreign nationals: those of African descent invoking 'Privilege of Return', foreign investors, STEM/arts/sports experts, and spouses of Nigerian women for at least one year. This is Nigeria's first permanent-residency-style pathway and a significant shift from time-limited permits.

NVP 2020 entered into force on Nigeria's 60th Independence Day, expanding visa classes from 6 to 79, formalising the e-Visa framework, and introducing Visa-on-Arrival for African Union nationals; the policy is the foundational reference for all current visa categories, including short-stay and employment classes used by visiting remote workers.

The Immigration Regulations 2017 provided the detailed procedural framework under the Immigration Act 2015, governing STR visa procedures, CERPAC issuance timelines, expatriate quota applications, and the Temporary Work Permit (R11) for short-term specialists; these regulations remain the operative rules for foreign workers seeking to reside in Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Immigration Act 2015 (Act No. 8 of 2015) into law on 25 May 2015, replacing the half-century-old 1963 Act; the new statute formally established the Nigeria Immigration Service as a statutory body, introduced modern offence provisions, and created the statutory basis for the multi-class visa regime later formalised in NVP 2020.

The Nigeria Immigration Service reissued an upgraded CERPAC card embedded with machine-readable biometric security features to address fraud and counterfeiting weaknesses in the 2002 version; this became the standard combined residence-and-work identity document for all long-term foreign nationals, including expatriate employees, in Nigeria.

Three years after independence, Nigeria enacted the Immigration Act of 1963 establishing sovereign entry controls requiring non-citizens to hold valid passports with visas or residence permits; this foundational statute governed all immigration — including for workers, investors, and residents — for over five decades until repealed by the 2015 Act.