United Kingdom visa requirements for Nigerian citizens

VFS Global: UK visa application centres in Abuja, Ikeja (Lagos) and Victoria Island (Lagos)

Nigerian nationals need a Standard Visitor visa for the UK; there is no waiver and an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) does not apply. The application is made online at gov.uk and the fee is paid (£135 for up to 6 months). Biometrics are taken at a VFS Global centre: since 19 November 2024 the UK visa application centres in Nigeria are run by VFS Global (not TLScontact, as before) with offices in Abuja and two in Lagos (Ikeja, presented as the largest UK visa centre in Africa, and Victoria Island). A standard decision usually takes about three weeks from the appointment; paid priority and super-priority services are available to speed it up. Nigeria is one of the highest-volume UK visa markets, which is why the centre network was expanded.

Official application site →

What the visa centre can and can't do →

Fee

135 GBP

Fee for the Standard Visitor visa of up to six months. Long-term visas, with stays of up to six months per visit, cost GBP 506 (2 years), 903 (5 years) and 1,128 (10 years). The application centre's service charge is added to the fee.

Required documents

• A passport or travel document valid for the whole of your intended stay. Unlike other destinations, the UK does not require extra months of validity beyond the trip
• Evidence that you will leave the UK at the end of your visit
• Evidence that you can support yourself and any dependants for the duration of the trip without recourse to public funds
• Evidence that you can pay for your return or onward journey
• Where someone else is paying for the trip, documentation showing who is covering the costs

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

Transit rules

The UK draws a line between two kinds of transit. If you are only changing planes and will not pass through border control, the relevant permission is the Direct Airside Transit visa (DATV), and you stay in the transit area without entering the country. If you do pass through border control but leave the UK within 48 hours, the relevant permission is the Visitor in Transit visa. Staying longer than 48 hours rules both of them out: you then need a Standard Visitor visa. Whether you need a transit visa at all depends on your nationality.