What does emigrating to Nigeria cost?
Answer a few short questions and you have an honest range for your situation. For every item it says whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. The visa is small on most routes: according to the Nigeria Immigration Service a Dutch citizen pays 110 dollars for an STR visa. For an employee the CERPAC is a large item: 2,000 dollars. Beyond that the money is in the move by sea, the rent in advance and the first months. One thing we state honestly. The customs levies on household goods and car and the cost of a Nigerian driving licence we couldn't read at the authorities themselves. Those items are therefore shown without an amount, with the reason given.
Looking for the whole route to Nigeria, not just the costs? See the steps, the order and the paperwork →
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 4.700 – € 16.400
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 4.000 – € 12.000
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 150 – € 2.500
- De verhuizing
- € 400 – € 1.100
- De eerste maanden
- € 4.200 – € 12.800
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- The visa, or for a Nigerian the passport€ 80 – € 250
- The CERPAC, your residence permit and residence card€ 0 – € 1.900
- VOG, certificates and legalisation(estimate)€ 100 – € 400
The amount depends on your route and the number of documents. Nigeria isn't a party to the apostille convention, so your papers are legalised: a document from a notary or sworn translator first at the court (€ 27), then at the Consular Service Centre of Foreign Affairs (€ 10 per document), and often also at the Nigerian embassy, whose fee couldn't be read. A VOG through the municipality costs € 41.35. A couple with a marriage certificate, birth certificates, two VOGs and the statements from the SVB and the pension fund quickly reaches eight documents. Whoever starts too early and has to redo things is at the top.
De verhuizing
- Flights(estimate)€ 400 – € 1.100
The spread sits in the season and the luggage: whoever travels with two extra suitcases pays the top. The amount is for one way from Amsterdam to Lagos or Abuja, direct or with a change.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 4.000 – € 12.000
This item consists of rent paid in advance, furnishing what didn't come along, and the months in which you still have double costs. Rent in Nigeria is often paid far in advance. The Lagos tenancy law (Tenancy Law 2011) says a landlord may not ask a new tenant for more than a year's rent in advance, but that law doesn't apply in Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. Rents differ widely between those areas and the rest of Lagos, Abuja and the smaller cities. Also count the currency risk: your income comes in euros, life runs in naira.
- Bank, phone, adviser and the first desks(estimate)€ 200 – € 800
Small money, but it's here because it all comes at once in the first weeks. It's about a Nigerian account, a local SIM card, the copies and legalisations you hand in at desks, and a tax adviser for the questions about your residence and your Dutch pension. Enrolling for the NIN is free according to the NIMC, also for a foreigner who lives there lawfully.
Deliberately no amount here
A Nigerian driving licence
There's no amount here. According to the NederlandWereldwijd travel advice your Dutch licence is valid in Nigeria for three months, together with an international driving permit; after that you apply for a Nigerian licence at the FRSC, the Federal Road Safety Corps. What that costs, we couldn't check with the FRSC.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
Rates checked on 17 October 2026.
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One thing you can sort out today
Closing down the Netherlands is the same work for everyone, wherever you're going. With the letter pack you enter your details once, and every cancellation and notification letter is ready: health insurance, rent, employer, bank, pension fund. Each comes with the date by which it has to go out. € 49 one-off, and it's also included in every plan.
In Vertrekklaar you get the complete picture of your own costs, with your route, your documents and your deadlines.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with a few questions, but the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates with your real situation: who's coming, which route, and whether the household contents and the pet come along. It also watches the clocks: the 90 days of your visa, your CERPAC and your NIN after arrival, the one year for voluntary AOW insurance and the thirteen years of your Dutch passport. A one-off € 399, no subscription.
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Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Nigeria: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Nigeria change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, and now and then we send one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
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