Canada visa requirements for Nigerian citizens

Canada Visa Application Centres (VFS Global) in Lagos (Victoria Island) and Abuja (Central Business District)

Nigerian nationals need a temporary resident visa for Canada (tourism, business, family visit). The application is filed online on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website, with payment of the processing fee. What is specific to this corridor: Canada has no visa section serving the public in Nigeria; biometrics (fingerprints and photo, mandatory, with an CAD 85 fee) are captured at one of the two Visa Application Centres run by VFS Global, in Lagos (Victoria Island) and Abuja (Central Business District). After submitting the application, IRCC issues a "biometric instruction letter" (BIL) used to book the appointment at the centre; book it as soon as it arrives, because slots fill quickly. The centre also receives the passport for the visa sticker once approved. The biometrics appointment itself is free; the centre charges a separate service fee.

What the visa centre can and can't do →

Authorization system

eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization)

Mandatory for flying to Canada (or making an air transit) if a visa isn't required. Apply only at canada.ca: there are fraudulent third-party websites.

Fee

CAD 7.00

Valid for up to 5 years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.

Processing time

Usually minutes (approval by email).

Required documents

• A valid passport
• A temporary resident visa or an eTA, depending on your nationality
• Proof of sufficient funds to cover the trip, if you are paying for it yourself. IRCC publishes no fixed figure: it assesses whether the money covers both the stay and the journey home
• A copy of your air ticket and travel itinerary, showing when you plan to return

Vaccinations

• No mandatory vaccines for entry: no international certificate of vaccination (yellow fever included) is required under the International Health Regulations.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

Transit rules

As a rule, passing through a Canadian airport in transit calls for the same document as entering: a temporary resident visa or an eTA, depending on your nationality. The exception is two specific programs, Transit Without Visa (TWOV) and the China Transit Program (CTP), which let certain nationals transit through Canada to or from the United States without a Canadian transit visa, provided they meet each program's requirements.

Customs limits

Cash

Declare if cash or monetary instruments reach or exceed 10,000 CAD.

Alcohol

1.5 liters of wine, or 1.14 liters of spirits, or 8.5 liters of beer — only after 48h or more outside Canada; not combinable between companions.

Tobacco

200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200g of manufactured tobacco, and 200 tobacco sticks.

Overstay penalties

Every temporary resident must leave Canada when their authorised period ends. Those who do not are in breach of IRPA and face enforcement action — arrest and removal, led by the CBSA — and may have a removal order issued against them. An exclusion order means you cannot return to Canada for 1 year from the date it is enforced; where the order was issued for misrepresentation, the bar is 5 years. Returning sooner requires an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC).

Common reasons for denial

• Failing to show sufficient funds for the stay and for the journey home.
• Failing to produce a ticket and itinerary showing when you plan to return.
• Carrying an exclusion order from an earlier irregular stay: it bars entry for 1 year from enforcement, or 5 years where it was issued for misrepresentation, and returning sooner requires an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC).