Nigeria sports, creative arts and cultural exchange visas

F7E Sports Visa is for participants in or attendees at sporting activities and competitions: athletes, officials and authorised support teams. F7F Creative Arts Visa is for performing artists and entertainers coming for artistic, entertainment or musical performances, such as musicians, dancers, actors and comedians.

F7I International Cultural Exchange Visa is for people taking part in cultural exchange activities that are covered by a memorandum of understanding between Nigeria and another country. Speakers at business conferences use the business visas instead, and religious officials coming to preach use the Cleric Visa F7B, which is an embassy class.

For F7E you need a letter of invitation naming the tournament or sporting event, the athlete’s credentials where applicable, a letter from the federal, state or private organiser endorsed by a federal or state sports commission, evidence of the fixtures, proof of funds from the participant or sponsor, and a hotel reservation or host address.

For F7F you need an invitation letter from the event organiser or promoter and a letter from the federal, state or private organiser endorsed by a federal or state arts or culture commission or the agency in charge, plus proof of funds or sponsorship by the host. For F7I the official letter documenting the cultural exchange under the MoU is the key document. All three also require a passport valid for at least six months, a photograph and a return ticket.

All three are e-Visa classes. Each participant applies on evisa.immigration.gov.ng, uploads the invitation and endorsement letters and pays the single-entry fee for their nationality under NIS Appendix I. Teams and ensembles can use group applications of up to 10 persons. NIS targets 48 hours where there is no local objection, so organisers should start early enough to allow for queries.

The visa is valid for 90 days from issue and allows one stay of up to 30 days. It cannot be extended. Holders may only carry out the activity for which they were invited: sporting activities under F7E, performances under F7F and the exchange programme under F7I. Any other work requires a separate permit.