Immigration
Immigration Act 2015 with expatriate quota control and ECOWAS free movement
The Immigration Act 2015 replaced the 1963 Act. Employing a foreign national requires an expatriate quota granted to the employer, then a Subject to Regularisation visa converted to a CERPAC residence card. ECOWAS nationals enter visa-free for 90 days under the 1979 Protocol.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Nigeria Immigration Service under the Ministry of Interior; expatriate quota approvals by the Ministry of Interior.
- Deadline — STR visa must be regularised within 90 days of arrival by applying for CERPAC
- Deadline — CERPAC residence cards are issued for one or two years and are renewable
- Deadline — ECOWAS nationals may remain 90 days without a residence permit
Governing law
- Immigration Act 2015 — replaced the Immigration Act 1963
- Immigration Regulations 2017
- ECOWAS Protocol relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment 1979
- Nigeria Immigration Service Act 2015
In practice
The controlling feature of Nigerian business immigration is the expatriate quota: a company must first obtain approval for a defined number of foreign positions, each tied to a job title and justified by the absence of local skills, before any individual can be sponsored. The individual then obtains a Subject to Regularisation visa abroad and, within 90 days of entry, applies for the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card. Business visas permit meetings but not employment, and working on one is a common compliance failure. Temporary Work Permits cover short technical assignments. The Act criminalises illegal entry and employment of irregular migrants, with penalties on employers. Nigeria is party to the ECOWAS free movement protocol, so community citizens need no visa for 90 days, though the residence and establishment phases of the protocol are less consistently implemented than the entry phase.