North America· Visa support
Canada visa requirements from Nigeria
Nigerian passport holders need a visitor visa (a temporary resident visa) to enter Canada. You apply online to IRCC before you travel, give biometrics at a visa application centre in Lagos or Abuja, and wait — and it is the waiting that catches most people out, because processing on this route is measured in months rather than weeks and moves around a great deal.
- Nigerian passport
- Visa required
- Typical processing
- 8–14 weeks (highly variable)
- Government fee
- CAD 100 (single/multiple entry); CAD 85 biometrics
- Paid to the embassy. Rayonner's fee is separate and quoted before you commit.
Who needs a visa for Canada?
By passport, for the nationalities we most often process. Where an answer is conditional it depends on the length of your stay, the purpose of the trip, or what other visas you already hold — tell us your situation and we will confirm it.
- Nigerian passportVisa required
- Ghanaian passportVisa required
- Kenyan passportVisa required
- South African passportVisa required
- British passportConditional
- American passportNo visa needed
Canada visa requirements: what you need
The document set we work to. Missions ask for additional items depending on the visa class and your circumstances, and we tell you which apply to you before anything is submitted.
- International passport with at least 6 months validity
- IRCC online application via GCKey
- Recent passport photo (Canada-spec)
- Bank statements (6 months) + proof of ties to home country
- Employment letter / business documents
- Letter of invitation (if visiting family / friends)
- Biometrics appointment at VAC
What actually decides a Canada application
Almost everyone we process for Canada is going for one of four reasons: to visit family who have already settled, to attend a conference or business meeting, to look at a university, or as the first step of a longer plan to move. Those are not the same application. A visitor visa is assessed on whether the officer believes you will come back, so the file has to show a life in Nigeria worth returning to — and that argument is made with documents, not adjectives.
Proof of ties is what the decision turns on
An officer is deciding whether you will leave Canada at the end of your stay. Property, a job you are expected back at, a business that needs you, dependants, and a travel history you have already honoured all speak to that. A thin file with a healthy bank balance and nothing else is the pattern that gets refused, and adding more money rarely fixes it.
Do not buy a non-refundable ticket first
Because the processing window on this route is both long and variable, tying yourself to fixed dates before the visa is issued is how people lose money. We will hold or quote flexible fares and book properly once the passport is back.
Money in the account is not the same as funds you can explain
A large deposit that lands shortly before you apply invites the question of where it came from. Statements that show a steady, ordinary pattern over the full six months are worth more than a big closing balance, and if a sponsor is funding the trip, their documents have to carry that weight instead.
How Rayonner helps
Long queue at the moment. Best results when the application package shows strong ties to Nigeria (assets, family, job). Rayonner's review focuses on the SOP and proof-of-ties.
In practice that means we check the document set against what the mission is currently asking for, flag what is missing or inconsistent before it is submitted rather than after it is refused, and book the flights and accommodation the application needs — as reservations, so you are not buying non-refundable travel against a decision you do not yet have. We are an IATA Accredited Travel Agent, so the ticketing and the visa file are handled by the same people.
This page is first-time guidance, not a legal source. The embassy, consulate or immigration authority for your destination is the only authority on its own requirements, and they can change without notice. Fees shown are what the government charges and are estimates — they are paid by you to the mission, and Rayonner's processing fee is separate and quoted before you commit. No agency, including this one, decides or can guarantee the outcome of a visa application.
Free assessment
How strong is your Canada application?
A few quick questions, one at a time. At the end you will see the specific things weakening your file and what would change them — not a guess at the decision.
Free · no sign-up to begin · about a minute
Canada visa: common questions
Do Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Canada?
Yes. Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Canada, and it must be arranged before you travel rather than on arrival.
How long does a Canada visa take to process?
8–14 weeks (highly variable). That is the published window rather than a promise — missions do move, and a file that comes back with a query starts the clock again. Work backwards from your travel date and leave margin.
How much does a Canada visa cost?
The government charge is CAD 100 (single/multiple entry); CAD 85 biometrics. You pay that to the embassy or consulate directly. Rayonner's processing fee is separate from it and is quoted to you before you commit to anything.
Can Rayonner guarantee my Canadian visa will be approved?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise. The decision belongs entirely to the visa officer. What we control is the quality and completeness of what reaches them — that the forms are consistent, the documents are the ones actually being asked for, and the case for your return to Nigeria is made clearly rather than left for the officer to infer.
I was refused a Canadian visa before. Can I reapply?
Yes, there is no bar on reapplying. But reapplying with the same file usually produces the same answer. The useful step is to read the refusal reasons given and address them directly — most refusals we see turn on ties to Nigeria or on funds that were not adequately explained. Bring the refusal letter to the desk and we will work from what the officer actually said.
Flights you will need for this trip
We book the travel and the visa together, so the dates on your application and the dates on your reservation are the same dates.
Travelling for study or business?
Those applications are assessed differently and need documents this page does not cover. We have written up each one separately.
Other visas we process
Prepared in Abuja and Lagos
Rayonner Travels & Logistics Ltd is an IATA Accredited Travel Agent, certified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Your file is reviewed by a person you can call, in an office you can visit.
