Lornag

At one point this airport was discussed quite thoroughly, primarily in context with transiting. I gather things have changed a bit so would like an update if possible.
I am flying into Lagos on Qatar Airways, biz class. I've got an approval letter for visa on arrival. I would like to know people's experience with the VOA process in immigration there. Also, I do have a bag as I am on a longer business trip coming from Asia, so I wonder if generally bags are secure in the airport. Any recommendations in general. THe last time I was there more than 20 years ago, it was not a good experience.

Thanks!

Palal

I did VOA in ABV a year ago, but the process was to go into an office, they filled some paperwork, attached the sticker to your passport and off you went.

BTW. How long did it take you to get the approval letter? I heard they streamlined the process, but wondering what the current situation is.

B747-437B

Piece of cake. As you go down towards immigration, you will see the VoA office off to the side. Go there and they will process you. If there is no line, you can be out in less than 10 minutes. If others ahead of you, figure around 10-15 minutes per person ahead. It has really become quite painless, albeit expensive.

Lornag

Thank you so much for replying. I have paid the fee already on the payment website. Is there any other additional fee? I had read somewhere...perhaps for biometrics? If so, do you remember what you paid ?

Is the rest of the airport process okay ? Or is it a bit of a hassle?

Lorna

Lornag

The approval letter was delivered in probably about 24 hours or less. On a Sunday!

The biggest issue is the application time especially paying through innovate services. Two of my credit cards refused to allow the charge due to potential fraud. I had to call the bank more than once.

Palal

There shouldn't be any other payment due IIRC.

The international terminal is quite ok, though if you have to do it, the domestic<>international terminal transfer is a pain to do.

Lornag

For others, I just wanted to say that the process in the airport went relatively smoothly. They did want a certain receipt from the online application process which I hadn't printed. I had a receipt from the official third party payment service. But they were able to process without it (It's a matter of going online with the ids provided in the approval letter) and didn't give me a super hard time. No extra charges. In the end they didn't look at anything but the letter and the payment receipt as well as my passport. Once I received the stamp, I exited what was now a crowded waiting room, and was ushered through the normal immigration queue without having to visit another officer. My passport was checked a number of times on my way out but no request was made of me. One thing I did note was that no one checked my baggage tag against the bag I was rolling out. So, that's not great and it's pretty standard in a lot of airports nowadays in Asia and Africa. Airport was hot and sticky, so bring water in case you are delayed.