Traveling to Lagos Advice

Appendix

Nigeria Visa Guide 2026

If you’re coming for less than 30 days, getting a tourist “e-Visa” is the way to go. To get an e-Visa, you’ll need to submit a:

• Scan of your passport
• Passport photo
• Copy of your round trip flight booking
• Accommodation information

As an American, this costs $180 and you can pay and submit these documents yourself via the Nigerian Immigration Service website.

Theoretically the e-visa should be processed within a few days, max 1-2 weeks. If you have any issues with this, you can contact a local visa consultant (e.g. Putovati Consulting or Travel Range) who can follow up about your application. This is sometimes necessary if there are issues with the website or if you’re lacking certain documentation. Don’t be afraid to reach out to NIS or a consultant for help.

I do not recommend trying to get visas from the embassies / foreign visa processing centers if possible. It’s much more hassle than the e-visa process. Trust me! Do the e-Visa process outlined above!

Airport Arrival

The old international airport is currently under renovations, so at the moment all passengers are arriving at the new terminal. Before arriving I recommend filing out a digital landing / arrival card. You'll receive a QR code by email which you may be asked to show at immigration. You'll need to do the same on departure.

After you get off the plane you usually pass through health screening. You need a yellow fever vaccine and corresponding yellow card to enter the country. Fill out the health declaration before you arrive to ease entry.

After the health checkpoint you’ll pass through immigration. This might be quick or take an hour depending on how many people are ahead of you.

You’ll queue through two immigration desks. The first (with a non-uniformed officer) is just checking whether your name shows up in an Interpol database. The second (uniformed) officer is the actual immigration official.

After immigration you’ll pick up your bags. Next is customs. Customs officials commonly ask for “tips”. Just smile and say “no thanks”. It’s definitely not necessary.

Keep your baggage tags handy. After passing through customs and leaving the arrival hall you’ll be asked to show them.

To get into the city from the airport, I’ve always had a good experience using Uber, Bolt, or Indrive. Meeting up with a ride app driver is a bit tricky as they’re not supposed to come around the pickup loop. You can still do it, but just be discreet about it being an uber. As of July 2026 all arrivals are being funneled into the car park because of construction.

If you’re arriving super late a night, it can be helpful to arrange a driver to pick you up beforehand as bolt / uber / indrive may be less active. But if you have any issues getting a car, or are just willing to pay more for convenience, there are always plenty of drivers hanging around.

The moment you leave the terminal you will undoubtedly have multiple people ask if you need a ride. I’ve never had an unsafe experience with these drivers, you’ll just pay 2x the cost of an Uber (maybe 25k-35k Naira) which is still quite affordable by international standards.