Canada Visitor Visa Guides

Canada attracts visitors from Nigeria for family visits, tourism and short business trips, and Nigerian passport holders need a visitor visa, also called a temporary resident visa or TRV, before they travel. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, known as IRCC, runs the whole process online, and most applicants never fill in a paper form.

Everything begins with IRCC's online questionnaire. Your answers generate a personalised document checklist, and that checklist, not a friend's old list, decides what you upload. You create an IRCC account, complete the forms, upload each document under the name the checklist uses, and pay the processing and biometrics fees together. IRCC says you need a scanner or camera and a valid credit card. If biometrics are required, a biometric instruction letter arrives in your account, and you attend a visa application centre run by VFS Global; in Nigeria these have been in Lagos and Abuja, but confirm locations with IRCC's own tool before booking.

IRCC's basic test is that you have a valid passport, are in good health, have no criminal or immigration-related convictions, have enough money for your stay, and can convince the officer you will go home. Ties to Nigeria carry the most weight: a job, a business, studies, property or family. Employees usually show an employment letter confirming approved leave and recent payslips. Business owners show registration and business bank statements. Students show a letter confirming enrolment and the break period. If a relative or friend is hosting you, their invitation letter should state your details, your relationship, the purpose and length of the visit, where you will stay, who is paying and when you will leave, plus the host's own status in Canada. IRCC notes that an invitation does not guarantee a visa. Children travelling without both parents should carry a consent letter.

The mistakes IRCC warns about are practical. Incomplete uploads cause delays. Only the biometric letter for your current application is valid, and the deadline runs from the date on that letter. Fake bank statements or bookings count as misrepresentation, which can lead to refusal and a ban. Pay government fees only to the Government of Canada, never to someone promising a guaranteed visa.

After approval, IRCC asks for your passport so the visa can be placed in it. At the border, an officer decides how long you may stay, so carry copies of your funds, invitation and accommodation evidence.

Guides on this site: our Canada visitor visa guide for Nigerian passport holders at /canada/nigeria walks through each IRCC step, the biometrics rules, documents by traveller type and what happens after a decision.

What visa do Nigerians need to visit Canada? A visitor visa, also called a temporary resident visa (TRV), applied for online with IRCC before travel.

Where do Nigerian applicants give biometrics for Canada? At a VFS Global visa application centre. Lagos and Abuja have been listed, but confirm current locations with IRCC's tool and attend before the deadline on your letter.

Is an invitation letter enough to get a Canadian visa? No. IRCC says an invitation letter helps explain your visit but does not guarantee a visa. Your own ties and funds still matter.

Who decides how long I can stay in Canada? The border officer on arrival. IRCC grants the visa, but the officer confirms your admissibility and sets your permitted stay.