Nigeria visiting visa for family and friends (F6A, F6B)

F6A is for foreign nationals invited by Nigerian citizens or by foreigners who live in Nigeria legally. The invitation must come from the host personally, and the host signs that they accept immigration responsibility, meaning they answer for your stay and departure.

F6B serves people who visit Nigeria often for social reasons. NIS reserves it for nationals of countries that offer comparable multiple-entry visit visas to Nigerians, and the length of validity depends on that reciprocity, up to five years. Tourists without a host use the Tourism Visa F5A instead.

From the host you need an invitation letter accepting immigration responsibility and a copy of the host’s Nigerian passport; a foreign host provides a copy of their residence permit instead. For F6B the letter must request multiple entries, and you should collect documents that confirm the reciprocity clause applies to your nationality.

Your own file contains a passport valid for at least six months, a passport photograph, a return ticket, the host’s address or a hotel reservation, and a 180-day bank statement. Children under 18 travelling with an adult add a birth certificate and a parental consent letter.

The fee depends on nationality and entry type under Appendix I of the NIS Service Level Agreement: F6A is charged at the single-entry rate for your nationality and F6B at the multiple-entry rate. Whether F6B is available at all depends on reciprocity, so check with the Nigerian mission before preparing the file.

F6A can be filed on the e-Visa portal, where NIS targets a decision within 48 hours, or through the embassy route. F6B is an embassy visa: you complete the form at visa.immigration.gov.ng and attend an interview and biometric capture at a Nigerian mission, with a 10-day target from enrolment.

F6A gives one stay of 30 days within 90 days of issue and cannot be extended. F6B allows repeated stays of up to 180 days each during its validity but is not extendable either. Neither visa allows paid or unpaid employment. If you marry a Nigerian citizen or plan to live with family long term, the spouse and dependant residence visas are the correct route and must be applied for from abroad.