Irish Embassy in Nigeria



Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny



Embassy of Ireland in Nigeria is located at 11 Negro Crescent Maitama District, Abuja.

Mr Patrick Fay is the current Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria. He presented his letter of credence to President Goodluck Jonathan on October 22 last year, in Abuja. George O'Keeffe is the Deputy Head of Mission of Ireland in the country.         

Operation hours

The Embassy’s visa office is opened to the public 9am to 3pm on Mondays to Thursdays. Visa office is closed on Fridays

The embassy’s Public Office operates from 8.30am to 4.30pm on Mondays to Thursdays, and 8.30am to 1.30pm on Fridays.

Commercial Service

The Embassy gives support both to Irish firms supplying goods and services from Ireland to Nigeria and the regional market and to the growing network of Irish firms that are already operating in Nigeria.

Consular Services

In cooperation with the Passport Office and the Consular Services Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, the Embassy also provides consular and passport services to Irish citizens in Nigeria and the other countries of accreditation.

Visa Application

The embassy has two Visa Application Centres (VACs) operated by VFS Global Ltd. The Lagos centre is located at 1st Floor, 16, Billingsway, Oregun Industrial Area, Ikeja. The Abuja VAC is located at number 38, Lobito Crescent, Wuse II.

Applicants are expected to appear in person during visa application in any of the two VACs. Appointments are not necessary before application.

The Irish Government began collecting biometric data in the form of fingerprints as part of the visa application process since March last year. All visa applicants who are aged 6 years and over will be required to provide their fingerprints at any of VACs. VFS Global Ltd are authorised to collect fingerprint data on behalf of the Irish Government.

VFS Global Ltd will forward the applications to the Embassy who will process and issue the visas, as appropriate. Application decisions and papers will be returned directly to the applicants by the Embassy, therefore applicants are advised to submit a prepaid envelope along with their application from any of the Courier service companies - DHL, FEDEX, UPS.

Visa applications will be processed in the fastest possible time following their arrival in the Visa Section in Abuja. However, to avoid delays in the issue of your visa, it is strongly advised that all applications are made at least eight weeks prior to expected departure date, and that all supporting documentation is included with your application.

Applications lodged in the VFS Lagos office will take a minimum of 10 working days to process, given transfer times from Lagos to Abuja.

Categories of visa

Holiday Visas are usually for short stays. The duration of stay for this category usually does not exceed 90 days. Business permission enables a foreigner to apply and establish business in Ireland through the country’s ministry of justice and law reform. Others types of visas operated by the embassy include student visa, business visa which is valid for only six months, conference visa that allows delegates and attendees entrance to conference in Ireland. For conference visa, it is expected that the visa office is notify in advance with list of the delegates.

Visa fees

The visa fee for a Single Entry Visa is the Naira equivalent of €60 (Euro).

For a Multiple Entry Visa the fee is the Naira equivalent of €100 (Euro).

The Visa Application Centres apply a service charge to be paid upon lodging of the visa application. Current rate for these service charges can be found through their web link in http://www.vfsglobal-ie-ng.com.

The visa fee and service charge should be paid in Naira cash to VFS with the application. 

The following applicants are exempt from paying the visa processing fee but are required to pay the VFS service charges: spouse/children of Irish Citizens and spouse/children of EU Citizens.

If one apply for a Multiple Entry Visa but are only granted a single journey, the difference in cost cannot be refunded.

About Ireland

Ireland is a beautiful island, combining contemporary modern cities with an unspoilt countryside, cityscapes steeped in history and a rich natural habitat.

The island of Ireland consists of a large central lowland of limestone with a relief of hills and several coastal mountains and is situated in the extreme north-west of Europe between 51.5 and 55.5 degrees north latitude and 5.5 and 10.5 degrees west longitude. The Irish Sea to the east, which separates Ireland from Britain, is from 17.6 to 192 km wide and has a maximum depth of about 200 metres. Around the other coasts the shallow waters of the Continental Shelf are rather narrow and depths increase rapidly into the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain ridges of the south comprise old red sandstone separated by limestone river valleys. Elsewhere granite predominates, except in the north east which is covered by a basalt plateau. The central plain contains glacial deposits of clay and sand. It is interrupted by low hills and has large areas of bog and numerous lakes.

The present population is over 4.2 million, the highest on record since 1861. As a consequence of Ireland’s improved economic performance there has been a significant increase in net migration in recent years. It is estimated that over 10% of the current population are migrants, of which, the majority have come from the twelve most recent Member States to accede to the European Union (since 1 May 2004).  In addition, there has been significant ‘reverse emigration’ of Irish immigrants returning to live in Ireland since the mid-1990s.