South Africans require a Nigeria visit visa in other to enter Nigeria for visitation. South Africa and Nigeria have continued to enjoy economic and diplomatic ties for more than two decades. While South Africa is among the favourite destinations for Nigerians for business, recreation, medical, and educational purposes, Nigeria is undoubtedly a business, religious and recreational hub for many South Africans. But we all know that applying for a visa can be very stressful; hence, this article will walk you through the application process.
In this blog post, I will list the requirements for obtaining a Nigeria visit visa that will permit you to stay in Nigeria for a month or 3 months, show you where to get the visa application form, book a visa appointment, and how to apply for your Nigeria visit visa in South Africa.
Nigeria Visit Visa requirements
According to information from the Nigerian Immigration Service website, to process a visit visa to Nigeria from South Africa, you need the following documents:
- A Passport that maintains at least six months of validity from the day you will arrive in Nigeria.
- A visa application form correctly filled.
- Two copies of recent passport size photographs with image width that is between 200px and 450px.
- A Letter of Invitation from a host in Nigeria that accepts responsibility for your visit.
- Proof of sufficient funds.
- Copies of your Visa Payment Receipt and Visa Acknowledgement Receipt from the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Other documents you may need are;
- A copy of the host’s travel documents or ID and or evidence of sufficient funds/funding
- Letter of Confirmation of employment in South Africa
- A 3 months personal bank statement with a minimum of R10,000 balance
- Your flight itinerary and hotel reservations
Filling The Nigeria Visit Visa Application Form
Application for a Nigerian visit visa starts with filling and submitting a 4-part online application form to the Nigerian Immigration Service. After which, you will be required to continue the process with any of the two Nigerian diplomatic missions in South Africa. The guidelines stated below is intended to assist you with your visa application process:
- To access the Nigerian visit visa application form, go to the Visa Section Homepage of the Nigeria Immigration Service at https://portal.immigration.gov.ng/visa/freshVisa.
- Browse through the page to locate the Visit Visa application form. Note that a Google, Yahoo or Open ID account is required to access the visa application form.
- Fill the application form correctly. Remember that you will be required to upload your photograph; ensure that the image width is between 200px and 450px.
- Ensure you verify which Nigerian diplomatic office (Johannesburg or Pretoria) will handle your visa application before completing the form. Choose the appropriate office as you fill out the visit visa application as these two offices operate as separate entities. Nigeria High Commission in Pretoria typically handles visa applications for diplomatic passport holders and or South African government officials. The Nigeria Consulate-General in Johannesburg process visas for South African citizens who wish to travel to Nigeria.
- Before submitting your application form, write down your Application ID and Reference Number.
- View and verify all your details, and then submit your application.
- Proceed to the online payment portal by clicking the payment icon. Payment is in US Dollars, and the current Nigerian visit visa application fee for South Africans is $58.
- You will get a preview of your submitted application and a prompt to print the filled form. Print out your visa application form and your payment receipts. Bear in mind that your Visa application will not be accepted without these documents.
- After your Visa Application has been submitted successfully and your payment verified, you will be assigned an interview date at a Nigerian diplomatic Mission either in Johannesburg or Pretoria.
- Report at the Mission of your choice at the slated date of your interview with your passport, visa application form, payment receipts, and other documents you may need to process your Visa.
Remember these guidelines concerning your application form:
- Ensure that you select the correct Consulate (Johannesburg or Pretoria) and send your documents to the location you have chosen on the Visit Visa application form.
- Remember to print the Google payment receipt for credit card payments.
- You must also include the confirmation message of payment with your visa application form in a case where payment is made by mailing money order as the Nigerian Mission cannot process your visa application without proof of direct payment.
- Note that the Nigerian Diplomatic missions may charge a processing fee to process visa applications.
Nigeria Visit Visa Appointment Booking
To book an appointment for a Nigerian visit visa, you will need to visit the Nigerian Immigration Service website. Click on “schedule an appointment”, fill out the details required, and your appointment will be fixed. You can equally put a call through to the NIS customer care or write a mail, either way.
You will be assigned an interview date at the Nigerian Mission of your choice once you complete the visa application form online and your payment has been confirmed. However, in the occurrence of scheduling difficulties, you can choose to rebook your Visa Interview. To do this, you will need to submit your Visa application ID, Reference Number, and the date you want for your interview. Send these details to the Support Mail available at the online portal of the Nigerian Immigration Services.
If you perhaps need to reach the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg for more details, you can download their contact card here. Otherwise, the call centre number, address, and mail address for the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg are +27-11-442-3620 (phone); +27-11-442-0010 (fax); 16 Rivonia Road, Illovo 2196 Johannesburg, and cgjhb@nigeria.co.za respectively. You could visit the Consulate website instead of a physical visit by logging onto www.nigeria.co.za.
Document Submission Timings: 08:00 to12:30 hrs — 13:30 to15:00 hrs (Monday-Friday).
Where to Apply for Nigeria Visit Visa in South Africa
You can apply for Nigeria Visit Visa at the online portal of the Nigerian Immigration Service. As a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, physical application offices are no longer available. However, you can submit your application to the Consulate General of Nigeria, located at 16 Rivonia Road, Johannesburg. See this link for the Consulate’s contact details.
Processing Time for Nigeria Visit Visa
The processing time for your Nigerian Visit Visa varies from 2 – 6 days. It is almost impossible to state the exact length of time it will take for your Visa to be processed as the Nigerian Diplomatic offices in South Africa entirely decides this.
Please note that some conditions, such as the outbreak of Covid-19, can further affect the expected time frame and may delay your visa issuance.
Tracking Nigeria Visit Visa Application
You can use the tracking number issued to you after completing your Nigerian Visit Visa to track your application; this process allows you to pinpoint your application’s status and gives you useful updates about your Visa’s processing.
You can track your application on the Nigerian Immigration Service’s portal via https://portal.immigration.gov.ng/visa/visaStatus. To track your Nigerian Visa application you need:
- Visa Application ID
- Visa reference number
In conclusion, the bilateral agreements between South Africa and Nigeria’s governments have greatly increased trade and ease travel between the two great African nations.
