A new process has been implemented by Nigerian Immigration Services.
Special Immigration Status entitlement
a. A non-Nigerian spouse of a Nigerian citizen
b. A foreigner married to a Nigerian with a child or children who has been in Nigeria with his or her Nigerian family;
c. A foreign woman married to a Nigerian who does not want to or cannot be registered as a Nigerian citizen.
All applicants seeking Niger Wives Status must first enter the country on an STR Spouse Visa to be obtained from the Nigerian High Commission in the wife’s home country. (Visa costs will apply).
You will need to show evidence of marriage (marriage certificate), provide your passport and your spouses Nigerian passport. You may also need to show evidence that you have changed your name to your husband’s name in line with the customary local practice.
On re-entry with the appropriate visa you can now proceed with Niger Wives application.
Eligibility
Foreign spouses of Nigerians who have entered the country with the appropriate STR visa.
Requirements
i. Letter of Application for Residence Permit by the Nigerian Spouse accepting immigration responsibility.
ii. Copy of Special Immigration Status approval letter by the Minister of Interior.
iii. Husband’s consent letter requesting for Special Immigration Status / Letter of consent from Niger Wife stating willingness to stay with husband in Nigeria.
iv. Nigerian bio-data page of Spouse.
v. Copy of passport bio-data page of Spouse.
vi. Marriage certificate.
vii. CERPAC form.
viii. Two (2) recent passport photographs.
How to apply
Applications for Special Immigration Status / Niger Wife shall be submitted to the Office of the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service Headquarters Abuja or to the Office of the Comptroller of Immigration Service at the State Commands where the expatriate is resident by the Nigerian Spouse.
RELATED TOPICS
Read about How to obtain an STR Spouse of a Nigerian Visa.
Since arriving in Lagos in August 2017, advice has come from several sources. Some recommendations are based on errors made through lack of experience living and working in this environment.
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hi where do we get :Copy of Special Immigration Status approval letter by the Minister of Interior and CERPAC form?
For Niger Wives applications, you obtain the pack from Visa Services (OIS in the UK) after your STR visa application is approved. Your pack which you must take UNOPENED back to Nigeria Immigration Services will include all the necessary documents.
Hi,
I’m a nigerWife. How did you go about applying for the Special immigration status and it’s approval? The embassy in brussels keeps referring me back to the immigration in nigeria before they would even entertain the STR visa application.
Could you pls give a timeline for obtaining your CERPAC?
Thank you!
Please read this article which explains how you get the STR visa – the pack contains the Special Immigration Approval. https://londongirlinlagos.com/travel/14/how-to-apply-for-a-str-spouse-of-a-nigerian-visa/
I don’t know the visa procedure in Brussels, but we apply on the NIS website online from the UK, then take the documents to the official visa processing centre for payment and processing. Try the links in the article to see if this also works for you.
If issued, you will be given a date to return to collect the approval envelope. You take this pack unopened to NIS in Nigeria. Timelines in Nigeria are imprecise! It can take anything from days to months to receive your CERPAC. Going to Abuja speeds it up.
Thank you for all the information. tHIS HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL. wHEN CONTACTING THE EMBASSY IN MY HOME COUNTRY ABOUT OBTAINING A str sPOUSE VISA, THEY TOLD ME TO BRING THE COPY OF SPECIAL IMMIGRATION STATUS BY THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR. bUT WHEN MY HUSBAND CHECKED ABOUT THIS FORM IN ABUJA, THEY TOLD HIM THAT THIS IS ONLY NEEDED FOR MEN AND NOT FOR WOMEN. bIT CONFUSING. COULD YOU HELP PLEASE.
Try to follow the steps in the article https://londongirlinlagos.com/travel/14/how-to-apply-for-a-str-spouse-of-a-nigerian-visa/
Visa applications can be done online, then you take your documents to the visa processing centre in your country. After processing you will be given a pack (which you must not open) to take to Nigerian Immigration Services in Nigeria.
I received my niger wife card in july 2019 and i came on a tourist visa. We got married in nigeria. Im told that the str requirement is not true. The abuja embassy who PROCESSED my card confirmed that.
Thank you Apriel. Thanks for the feedback. They changed the process in July 2019. If you had applied before, you would not have had to go through the STR process. The information I have provided is what the current process is. I was told this information by the Comptroller General’s office direct. This is the only official way now to get a NigerWives Green Card, with an STR Spouse of a Nigerian visa. I applied in July 2019 and had to return to the UK to continue the process and come back with an STR visa.
After the submission for the niger wives has been submitted can the applicant travel back and have someone else pick it?
i’d want to process this but i’m not sure the mrs would have extended time off till december so she might be able to only steal 4 or 5 days off to handle it.
Niger Wives visa is a resident’s visa. The Niger Wife is expected to live in Nigeria. You don’t have to collect the Green Card in person, they sent mine by courier, I had it collected from the airport. However, they will retain both your passport and your wife’s passport until the application is completed, so travel within 4-5 days of submission is unlikely.
After the submission for the niger wives has been submitted can the
applicant travel back and have someone else pick it?
i’d want to process this but i’m not sure the mrs would have extended
time off till december so she might be able to only steal 4 or 5 days
off to handle it.
Hello,
Thanks for sharing this piece of information. If i may ask, what is the validity of the card, 5 years (more or less?)
The validity of a Niger Wife residents card is linked to the passport expiration date. It lasts as long as the linked passport is valid.
HOW MUCH THOSE IT COST TO APPLY PLEASE
There is no charge for the Niger Wives permit, but you have to pay for an STR visa from the wife’s country of origin before you apply for the Niger Wife’s residents permit.
Does any one know the cost of applying for a Niger wife pls
There is no cost for the Niger Wife’s résidents card. But you will have to pay for a Subject to Regularisation (STR) visa from your country of origin BEFORE you can apply for the Niger Wife residents permit. Please check the NIS website for the rates for the wife’s country of origin.
I cant Seem to find any information online on how to renew my niger wife green card. Any idea on the process of renewal?
Contact the Nigeria Immigration Service HQ in Abuja to confirm. No information has been provided by NIS about the renewal process. Sorry can’t help with this.
THANKS FOR THIS INFORMATION. If i Travel out oF the country, say for work, would i still need a visa to return to lagos or can I use ny Niger wife card?
The Niger Wives green card shows you are resident in Nigeria, therefore you will no longer need a visa to return.
my fiancee will be visiting Nigeria soon. we have lived together for years outside Nigeria. is it possible for us to get married in Nigeria when she comes in with a tourist visa? we plan on renting a house , will you advice us to rent a house in ikeja? we will be more comfortable with an environment that has a good number of foreigners around. please guide us, thanks
Apologies for the delay, been very busy during the lockdown. I expect your plans have probably changed…
Getting married in Nigeria is possible on a visitors visa, although not sure if you can if neither of you are resident here. I will check this and come back to you. There is a notice period from application to ceremony.
Currently I would not recommend a house in Ikeja due to security issues as a result of the lockdown. Victoria Island, Banana Island, or Ikoyi are more secure at this time. A lot of foreigners returned to their home countries, but there are still clusters of foreigners. Niger Wives group is very active and most of the ladies are committed to living in Nigeria, so they are still here. After the lockdown ends, I would recommend you come and stay in a hotel first so you can visit properties before you commit to renting. It’s not easy to get a sense of things online.
Thank you so much for THIs invaluable information LondongiRlinlagOS!
Please could you kinDly assist with the BeLOw questions:
1) One of the REQUIREMENTS fOr the STR visa is the marriage Certificate. Does this suppose we GOT married in Nigeria? I am yet to get mArried to my partner – planning to do so after the Covid lockdowns. We live in Kenya And NigeRia and wE will shuffle between Nairobi and lagos Because of work. Do we have to go to nigeria (with tourist visa) to wed first and then use that certificate to applY for StR when back in kenya? Or We use kenya marriage cErtificate?
2) is change of Surname compuLsory, i have been told thaT it’s a requirement to do the newspaper aD in nigeria (as part of niger Wive cHecklist) aNnouncing marriage/Surname change? Did You have to do this?
3) How long does it take to get the nIger card after all has been submitted?
If you both don’t reside in Nigeria, you are unlikely to be eligible for a Niger Wives card. Your husband has to prove he is resident in Nigeria. You are then agreeing to live in Nigeria with him. They will retain both of your passports during the application process, so you will be in Nigeria for the duration. I must emphasise that a Niger Wives card is a Resident’s card. The expectation is that you and your husband intend to and do live in Nigeria.
You don’t have to get married in Nigeria to apply. You will need to provide the marriage certificate and proof of residency. I did not have to change my name, although I also heard some people have been required to. My travel document was in my original name, therefore my Niger Wives card (which is linked to your passport) is in the same name.
If you plan to get married in Nigeria, you will need an entry visa. Tourist visa is OK. But you then have to go back to Kenya to apply for an STR visa to come back.
The process can take take up to 6 months. We went to Abuja chasing up the process 3 times. We spent about 4 months in total trying to figure it out. Once we had the STR, which was new when we did it, it took about 3-4 weeks for completion. But we were one of the first to go through the new procedure, hence why I detailed the process for those who would follow. With the lockdown it is likely there will be a backlog, so it is likely to take longer.
It is linked to your passport so lasts as long as that is valid.
You swift response has been kind and helpful, please we Need your help. My wife and i has been married since Feb 1 , this is her 3rd time here, And shes been living with me since decemeber 2019 . We Are a novice to the str/ Nigerwive and now we are in a state of confusion as her niger Visa doesnt coMe with an str. Please how do we go about this .
Unfortunately, your wife will need to return to her country of origin and apply for an STR visa to come back. You cannot change a tourist or business visa to an STR visa. it doesn’t matter that you are now married. It is a separate Visa application entirely.
Have you applied for extension of her stay? Her entry visa is likely to have expired after 30 days, check the entry stamp. She will need to extend her visa or be charged for the over stayed period of time on exit. They will no doubt make some allowance due to the lockdown, but given the entry date mentioned, the visa expired before the lockdown commenced. Don’t panic, but it will need to be sorted out, or paid for on exit. They will expect her to carry the extension receipt with her when she travels. She will need to travel with a copy of her marriage licence, a copy of your passport data page and a letter from you. Check the post on STR visas for the full process. Hope this helps.
can you kindly Have the address & contact name, Address DetaIls For abuja IMMIGRATION office. I would need to get a nigerian passport. I alreaDy have the niger wives card. Sorry for the Caps. the system seems to not like lowercase. ThAnk yOu
Hi, I don’t have contacts for Nigerian passports but here are the Head Office details.
Nigerian Immigration Service Headquarters,
Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Road ,
Sauka Abuja.
P.M.B. 38
Garki Abuja.
Website: http://www.immigration.gov.ng
Phone:
+234-708-0607-900
+234-814-7199-908
Hi, I have a slightly different concern.
My wife is nigerian, but have been living in india for the last 20 years, the indian government has granted her Inidian citizenship, however, on condition that we need to renounce nigerian citizenship.
Would you know what’s the process for that please?
Also, if she renounces her nigerian citezenship, can she apply for a special status immigrant visa later?
Sorry Josh, I have no knowledge of India-Nigeria visa issues. I think there is a Facebook Group Indian Expats in Nigeria who will no doubt have experienced this issue.
My first question is can i keep going to see my Nigerian husband off of my multiple visit visa for 2 years until i file for a nigeria wife visa (STR)?
my second question is that do you have examples of letters that need to be done by husband and me the wife showing the immigration responsibilty?
please advise thanks
Yes, you can visit on a multiple entry visa. But do note there is a maximum time allowed to stay on each entry and per year. You cannot stay longer than 30 days per entry without extending your stay.