Nigeria Landing and Exit Cards 2026: Who Needs Them, How to Apply and Common Errors

Official guidance checked: 23 October 2026.

Coming to Nigeria for Christmas, Detty December or a family visit? Before adding another form to your travel checklist, establish which passport you will use for Nigerian immigration.

Travelling with your Nigerian passport? NIS says neither landing nor exit card is required. NIS FAQ.

Foreign visitors must complete a landing card before entry and an exit card before departure. NIS FAQ.

The official website is lecard.immigration.gov.ng. It offers separate application options for arrival and departure, plus a card-retrieval service.

This guide explains how to prepare, use the official service and handle problems without confusing a travel form with permission to enter Nigeria.

Start with the passport you will use

A family travelling together may need different document arrangements. Work through each person's case before opening the application form.

The portal describes its purpose as preparing arrivals and departures for foreigners. It does not resolve every possible combination of citizenship, expired documents and airline boarding requirements. Source: NIS description of the service.

For an unusual passport combination, ask a precise question: “I hold these two passports, with these expiry dates, and intend to present this one when entering Nigeria. Which documentation should I prepare?” Request a written answer and keep it with your booking. A relative's successful journey is useful context, but cannot confirm your own document requirements.

A landing card is different from a visa

Treat the journey as three separate checks: permission to enter, arrival documentation and departure documentation. Completing one should never lead you to assume that the others are settled.

For travellers using a full British citizen passport, the UK government's Nigeria guidance says visitors must obtain a visa before travelling, unless an applicable exemption applies. It also states that Visa on Arrival is no longer available and identifies landing/departure cards as a separate process for foreigners. Its advice is expressly written for British passport holders; other nationalities should check their own circumstances with NIS. Source: GOV.UK Nigeria entry requirements.

Keep visa approval, passport details and travel-form confirmations in separate, clearly labelled files. This makes it easier to find the document an airline or immigration officer actually requests.

When to apply for the landing card

The current FAQ specifies 24–48 hours before arrival in Nigeria, rather than the 72-hour window quoted elsewhere. NIS application timing.

Prepare your documents earlier, then set an application reminder against your scheduled Nigerian arrival. An overnight flight or connection can put arrival on a different calendar date from departure. Use the arrival date and local time printed on the itinerary.

We recommend two separate reminders: one to complete the application when eligible, and another before leaving home to open the saved confirmation. If your flight changes, review the information you submitted and ask support how to handle any mismatch.

How to complete the official form

Start from the NIS landing and exit card homepage, rather than a sponsored search result or a link forwarded without context.

The homepage sets out this sequence: select arrival or departure, enter your visa or passport information and personal details, review the information, then download and print the confirmation. Names, nationality, date of birth and document numbers should match the relevant travel documents; contact details must be accurate.

LECARD requires its own account, separate from eVisa, and individual traveller submissions. NIS FAQ.

Before you begin, put the following within reach:

• The passport you intend to use for the Nigerian entry process.
• Your visa or other applicable entry documentation.
• The current itinerary, including any connecting flights.
• Your accommodation address and host's contact details, if relevant.
• Access to the email account you intend to use.

These are preparation suggestions, not a claim that every field appears in every application. Follow the fields displayed for your circumstances.

Before submitting, compare the completed form with the documents themselves. Pay particular attention to the order of names, passport-number characters, arrival date and email address. If somebody is helping you complete it, ask to review the final screen yourself.

Download the card before leaving home

The official portal instructs applicants to download and print their confirmation for checkpoints. We also recommend keeping an offline copy on your phone, rather than relying on opening an email after landing. Source: NIS confirmation instructions.

Give files recognisable names, such as “Amina landing card December 2026”. For a family trip, place each person's documents in a separate folder so you do not show the wrong confirmation while searching through messages.

To recover an existing card, use Get Your Last Card. The retrieval page asks for a passport number, country of issuance and date of birth. Check the recovered document against the journey you are preparing for before treating it as ready to use.

Common problems and the next step

These are the NIS FAQ's troubleshooting steps. Follow up until your own issue is resolved.

Keep a short record of what happened: the exact error, when it appeared, which step failed and any reference number. This is more useful to support than repeatedly submitting the same request with different spellings or document numbers.

If departure is approaching, contact your operating airline as well. Explain the unresolved issue and ask what its check-in team will require. An airline's response can clarify boarding arrangements; only the relevant authority can resolve an immigration record.

Remember the return journey

An approved landing card should have a corresponding exit card. NIS FAQ.

Put departure preparation on your calendar when organising the outward journey. Do not wait until your airport transfer arrives to look for account details or discover an earlier application problem.

Our suggested departure check is simple: review your current flight booking, locate your passport and entry record, check the portal's current instructions, and save the relevant confirmation. Keep any support correspondence accessible until the journey is complete.

How to contact official LECARD support

The official contact page lists [email protected], +234 912 155 6359 and +234 912 190 0655, with hours shown as 07:00–20:00 GMT+1. It also links to the Ministry of Interior support service.

Use a concise message such as:

Subject: LECARD error — arrival on [date]

I am travelling on [passport nationality] and am trying to complete [landing/exit] documentation. My scheduled arrival/departure is [date and time]. At [application step], the portal displays [exact message]. My reference is [reference, if available]. Please advise how to correct the record or complete the application.

Include screenshots through the official support channel when needed. Keep passport information out of public comments and social-media posts, and retain the support reference so you can follow up on the same case.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Nigeria landing card cost money?

The official LECARD service is free. Source: NIS FAQ.

Can I retrieve a lost card?

Yes. Use the official retrieval page, then save the recovered document somewhere you can access during travel.

Does a connection at Lagos Airport count as transit?

NIS says the portal is not for transit. A connection involving entry into Nigeria needs separate consideration: confirm the actual itinerary with NIS and your airline. Source: NIS transit FAQ.

For onward domestic flights, also plan the physical journey using our Lagos international-to-domestic terminal transfer guide.

What else should December visitors prepare?

Arrange onward transport, keep your host's number available offline and check how you will get connected after landing. If you are bringing a new handset, read our guide to bringing a phone to Nigeria and NCC verification before relying on it for travel documents, calls or mobile data.