Indian Medical Visa for Nigerian Citizens

Can Nigerians use the e-Medical visa?

No. Nigeria is absent from the e-Visa list on the Government of India's visa portal, and the High Commission of India in Abuja states that there is no e-Visa facility for Nigerian nationals. The e-Medical visa, valid for two months (60 days) from the day of arrival in India, belongs to the nationalities on that list. A Nigerian patient applies for a regular medical visa through the mission instead.

Which mission takes the application?

The High Commission of India in Abuja handles applications. The Consulate General of India in Lagos receives applications from residents of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers states. The applicant must appear in person, because fingerprints and iris photographs are captured at the mission.

What does the visa cost?

The visa fee is set by the Government of India and paid online with the application (or at the Indian mission for a paper visa); Jivo confirms the current fee with you before you apply.

How long is the visa valid?

The mission decides. It states that every visa is valid from the date of issue, not from the date of arrival in India, and that the High Commission reserves the right to decide the duration. It publishes no fixed validity for a medical visa, so a patient plans the flights around the dates printed on the visa itself.

Which documents does the mission ask for?

The mission publishes a checklist that it describes as guidance, and the interviewer may ask for more:

• Invitation letter from the Indian hospital, FRRO-registered and carrying a file reference number
• Latest referral letter or medical report from a government hospital in Nigeria, and the medical history
• Last discharge report from the Indian hospital, for follow-up cases
• Signed sponsorship letter, with the sponsor's National ID card and, where available, passport copy
• Sponsor's bank statements for the latest three months
• Compatibility report or certificate, for organ donors

The partner hospital, which is FRRO-registered like every Jivo partner hospital, issues the Visa Invitation Letter, and Jivo arranges it with the hospital for every patient.

What is the sequence, step by step?

1. The hospital issues its invitation letter and registers it with the FRRO to obtain a file reference number.
2. The patient completes the regular visa application online at indianvisaonline.gov.in, selects the Indian mission, then prints the form.
3. The patient emails the documents to the two consular addresses the mission names, [email protected] and [email protected], and attaches proof of that email to the application.
4. The patient attends the mission on the appointment date printed on the form. At Abuja, document verification and payment run from 10:00 to 12:00 and interviews from 14:00 to 17:00.
5. Fingerprints and iris photographs are captured.
6. The patient pays at the mission's Sterling Bank counter, in naira.
7. The passport is collected between 16:00 and 17:00 on working days. Flights are booked only after that.

How long does it take?

The mission sets no fixed processing time. The High Commission in Abuja says processing is at its sole discretion and advises booking flights only after the visa is in hand; the Consulate General in Lagos says some visa types can take up to six weeks.

If treatment takes longer than the visa allows, the hospital and the Jivo team help the patient apply for an extension on the e-FRRO portal.