Nigeria international travel protocol &#8211; step by step

Step by step guide on hitch free travel to and from Nigeria during Covid-19 Pandemic as released by the presidential task force on Coid-19

For Inbound travelers

Before your trip to Nigeria, visit Nigeria International Travel Portal and fill out the Pre-boarding Health Declaration and Screening form. You are to upload on the portal, COVID-19 Negative PCR test result of test taken not more than 96 hours before the date of travel.

Then select an appointment date and laboratory for a repeat COVID-19 test to be done 7 days after arrival in Nigeria. Online payment will be required.

You will receive a payment confirmation and a bar-coded print out which you will present at airport check-in in your country of departure and to the Health officials at your port of entry in Nigeria

On your appointment day, visit your selected laboratory for the post arrival COVID-19 test. Your test results will be sent to you via email and also shared with the relevant Government Agencies for appropriate management.

For outbound travelers

For traveler leaving Nigeria to countries that require a PCR Negative result as a supporting travel document , visit Nigeria International Travel Portal and fill out the Passengers Self-Reporting Form.

The select an appointment date and laboratory for the COVID-19 test . Online payment will be required.

You will receive a payment receipt confirming your appointment

Visit your selected laboratory on your appointment date. Your test results will be sent to you via email.

Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 revised quarantine protocol is as follows;

Pre-depature from country of exit

All intending travellers to Nigeria must have tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19 by PCR in the country of departure pre-boarding. The PCR test MUST be within 96 hours before departure and preferably within 72 hours pre-boarding. For certain countries, COVID-19 PCR tests will only be acceptable from specified laboratories.
Tests done more than 96 hours before departure are not valid and persons will not be allowed to board; but for the 72 hours minimum, this is advisory and will not preclude boarding.
All intending passengers are required to register via a Nigerian International Travel Portal online https://nitp.ncdc.gov.ng/onboarding/homepage. On this portal three transactions should be completed:
- Health Declaration and Self Reporting:
  Passengers will fill the online Health Declaration/Self-Reporting Form co-located on the same national International Travel Portal and submit online. They should ensure that the information/contact details provided on the form are correct, verifiable and that they can be reached on the phone number and address provided. Passengers must inform Port Health officials on arrival of any change in their health circumstances since completion of the Health Declaration/Self-Reporting Form.
- Report of Negative COVID-19 test conducted in the country of departure:
  Passengers are also requested to upload their COVID-19 PCR NEGATIVE results on to the national payment portal and bring along an electronic or hard copy of the result.
- Payment for a repeat (second) PCR test to be done upon arrival in Nigeria. This portal will provide passengers with the options of where and when to carry out the PCR test. Passengers will be given an appointment date and time to present themselves at the Laboratory for a repeat COVID-19 PCR test on the 7th day after arrival. A list of accredited private laboratory providers across the country will be available on the portals.
  - i. Passengers whose destination is Lagos will pay to the Lagos State Laboratory consortium portal.
- On completion of these three, an Access Report containing a QR Code will be sent to the email address provided by the Passenger. Print out or download an electronic copy of this Access Report for presentation before boarding. If this is not provided passengers may not be allowed to board a flight to Nigeria.
At the time of boarding, all travelers will undergo thermal screening for fever and questioned for symptoms of COVID-19. Passengers with COVID-19 related signs and symptoms will not be allowed to board the flight.
Airlines must only board passengers with test results showing that the tests were done within the stipulated 96 hours window before boarding; Airlines that board passengers without a Negative COVID-19 PCR tests or test results of more than 96 hours prior to boarding will be sanctioned.
- Non- Nigerians may be refused entry and returned to the point of embarkation at cost to the Airlines.
- Nigerians will be allowed entry but subjected to 14 days of mandatory quarantine at a facility approved by Government and at cost to the passenger(s).

Airlines will be fined USD 3,500 per passenger for failure to comply with the pre-boarding requirements.

On Arrival in Nigeria

All passengers/persons arriving in Nigeria will be:

Required, on arrival at the airport, to go through the routine Port Health screening and present electronic or print-out Access Report sent to their emails for verification and approval by the Port Health Officials.
There will be further temperature screening by the Port Health Officials and travelers with temperature of over 38oC will be required to proceed to secondary screening. At the secondary screening area travelers will be further checked for COVID-19 related symptoms and/or other relevant health conditions. Port Health Services Officials may require travelers to proceed to a compulsory quarantine facility if they suspect the need for direct care.
- Travellers reporting or developing symptoms of COVID-19 on arrival, or during screening will not be allowed to self-quarantine and will be placed in institutional quarantine.
Other passengers will proceed to further immigration clearance.
On arrival at destination in Nigeria, passengers will proceed on a 7-day self-isolation/quarantine, during which time they are to avoid physical interaction with friends, family, colleagues, and other members of the public (i.e. must observe strict physical and social distancing).
Passengers are strongly advised to stay in the residential address provided in order to facilitate public health support in Nigeria.
Passengers must present themselves at the sample collection centers on the 7th day of arrival; samples will be taken, and a COVID-19 PCR test done; a reminder text message may be sent to the passenger by the private laboratory provider a day before the appointment.
- Passengers who fail to submit themselves at the sample collection centers on day 7 of arrival will be reminded by sms and their details forwarded to the State Public Health Department teams and NCDC for active follow up.
- Private laboratories will be required to forward details of passengers who decline repeat PCR test by day 14 of arrival for sanctioning. These passengers may be sanctioned with suspension of their passports or inclusion on a travel no-fly list for 6 months and denied foreign travel for this period.
Test results will be ready within 24 to 48 hours and the State Public Health Department teams & Nigeria Center for Disease Control will be informed accordingly.
- Persons who test POSITIVE for COVID-19 will be managed based on National Guidelines for COVID-19 treatment.
- Persons who test NEGATIVE for COVID -19 after 7 days will end self-isolation on the 8th day.
- Travellers reporting or developing symptoms of COVID-19 on arrival, or during screening will not be allowed to self-quarantine and will be placed in institutional quarantine.
For deportees, if one person tests positive for COVID-19, all close primary contacts will be required to undergo enhanced screening and a follow-up PCR test if necessary
- Passengers will be monitored by Public Health Officers during the period of self – isolation/quarantine. For this reason, passengers will be required to provide a functioning telephone number on their online registration forms. Persons who develop symptoms of COVID-19 during the isolation period will immediately be tested for COVID-19. If POSITIVE, they will be managed based on National Guidelines for COVID-19 treatment