Nigeria Ends Visa on Arrival: Advance Approval and a Digital Landing Card Are Now Standard

Nigeria has replaced two things at once. The Nigeria Immigration Service implemented its e-Visa system alongside automated digital Landing and Exit Cards, retiring both visa-on-arrival issuance at ports of entry and the paper arrival card that used to be handed out on the plane.

Both changes were rolled out through 2025 and remain in force in 2026. Neither is a pilot.

What went away

Visa on arrival. Travellers can no longer land in Lagos or Abuja and obtain permission at the counter. Entry permission has to exist before departure.

The paper landing card. Arrival and departure declarations are now digital.

What replaced them

An e-Visa application made before travel, and a digital Landing and Exit Card that is mandatory for all incoming and outgoing travellers.

Read that last phrase carefully. It is not only an arrival requirement. The exit card applies on the way out as well, which is the part travellers most often discover at the airport on their departure day rather than on arrival.

Why this is a boarding risk, not just an admin change

Airlines verify travel documents before departure. A passenger who plans to obtain permission on landing will not be carried, because the airline is responsible for returning anyone the destination refuses.

For regular business travellers to Nigeria, that is the trap. Visa on arrival was frictionless, and habits formed around it. The change is easy to miss precisely because the old process asked so little.

What travellers should do

Arrange entry permission before you book anything non-refundable.

Complete the digital landing card before you fly, and remember the exit card before your return leg.

Build in more time than you think you need. A process that has just moved from the border to a pre-departure application is a process where errors surface earlier and take longer to fix.

Confirm which category of visa fits your purpose. Business, tourism and work are treated differently, and the mandatory pre-approval means a wrong category cannot be corrected at the airport.

Verified against the Nigeria Immigration Service announcement on the implementation of the e-Visa application system and automated landing and exit cards.