Marriage to a Nigerian Citizen

Every country has its own laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a Nigerian citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps.

If you want to bring your Nigerian spouse or partner to live in Canada, you must then file a sponsorship application for them to become a permanent resident. If they would like to visit you in Canada while their application is in process, they must also apply for a visitor visa. For more information, please see our family sponsorship page and our visitor visa page.

 

Processing Time

Once the necessary documents are gathered, it usually takes the Nigerian government up to 3 weeks to authenticate the documents.

If you then file a Canadian sponsorship application for your Nigerian spouse or partner, this application takes an average of 10-12 months.

A visitor visa application for your spouse or partner to visit you in Canada while the sponsorship applications are processing takes an average of 3 –14 days.

Please see our pages on family sponsorship and Canadian visitor visa for more information on the processing times of these applications.

 

Nigerian Marriage Basic Requirements

The following is a guideline on how to register a marriage in the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Nigerian law.  Please note that Nigerian authorities do not usually require citizens of some countries like Australia to provide a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI) when registering a marriage.

• Marriage is registered at a local public registry, which requires a Letter of Marriage Intention and payment of a fee of Naira 2,000.
• A person under 18 years of age, who wishes to register a marriage, is required to present a letter of consent from his or her parents.
• The registry will display the Letter of Marriage Intention for 21 days on a public notice board.
• Provided that no objection to the intended marriage is made during the 21 day period, a couple may then register their marriage.
• Birth certificates or official documents showing the ages of the couple are required together with the results of HIV and genotype tests.
• A divorcee must produce a divorce certificate, while a widow or a widower is required to present the death certificate of the late spouse.
• A marriage registrar may witness the exchange of oaths by the couple.

 

Family Members

If your Nigerian spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the Nigerian Marriage document application.

If you have dependent children, they have no effect on the application to marry a Nigerian citizen.

 

List of Nigerian Consulates in Canada

Click here

Calling Nigeria from Canada

011 – 234 – Area Code – local number

Aba	82	Calabar	87	Katsina	65	Oyo	38
Abakaliki	43	Enugu	72	Kontagora	67	Pankshin	70
Abeokuta	39	Gombe	72	Lafia	47	Port Harcourt	84
Abuja	9	Gusau	63	Lagos	1	Sapele	54
Ado-Ekiti	30	Hadejia	78	Lokoja	58	Sokoto	60
Agbor	55	Ibadan	2	Maiduguri	76	Ubiaja	55
Ahoada	86	Ijebu-Ode	37	Makurdi	44	Umuahia	88
Akure	34	Ikare	50	Minna	66	Uyo	85
Asaba	56	Ile-Ife	36	New Bussa	33	Warri	53
Auchi	57	Ilorin	31	Ogoja	45	Wukari	41
Awka	48	Jalingo	79	Okitipupa	59	Yenagoa	89
Azare	71	Jos	73	Onitsha	46	Yola	75
Bauchi	77	Kaduna	62	Oshogbo	35	Zaria	69
Benin	52	Kafanchan	61	Owerri	83
Birnin-Kebbi	68	Kano	64	Owo	51

Cell numbers begin with 8

 

Calling Canada from Nigeria

009 – 1 – Area Code – local number

• 009- Exit code for Nigeria, and is needed for making any international call from Nigeria
• 1 – ISD Code or Country Code of Canada

 

Province	Code	Province	Code
Alberta	403 / 587 (southern Alberta) 587 / 780 (central and northern Alberta)	Nunavut	867
BC	236 / 250 / 778 (majority of BC) 236 / 604 / 778 (Metro Vancouver)	Ontario	226 / 519 (southwestern Ontario) 249 / 705 (northeastern Ontario) 289 / 365 / 905 (Greater Toronto Area) 343 / 613 (eastern Ontario) 416 / 647 (Toronto) 807 (northwestern Ontario)
Manitoba	204 / 431	PEI	782 / 902
New  Brunswick	506	Quebec	418 / 581 (eastern Quebec) 438 / 514 (Montreal) 450 / 579 (Greater Montreal) 819 / 873 (remainder of Quebec)
Newfoundland and Labrador	709	Saskatchewan	306 / 639
Northwest Territories	867	Yukon	867
Nova Scotia	782 / 902

 

Time Difference

Nigeria is on West Africa Time (GMT+1). Nigeria does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Canadian Time Zone	# of Hours Nigeria is Ahead	# of Hours during DST
Pacific (BC, Yukon)	9 hours	8 hours
Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan)	8 hours	7 hours
Saskatchewan	7 hours	7 hours
Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario)	7 hours	6 hours
Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec)	6 hours	5 hours
Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec)	5 hours	4 hours
Newfoundland	4.5 hours	3.5 hours

 

Emergency Information for Canadians in Nigeria

High Commission of Canada in Abuja 15 Bobo Street (off Gana Street) Maitama, Abuja Nigeria Telephone: 234 (09) 461-2900 Fax: 234 (09) 461-2902 E-mail: [email protected] Website: canadainternational.gc.ca/nigeria/	View Larger Map
Deputy High Commission of Canada in Lagos 4 Anifowoshe Street Victoria Island Lagos Nigeria Telephone: 234 (1) 271-5650 Fax: 234 (1) 271-5651 E-mail: [email protected] Website: canadainternational.gc.ca/nigeria/	View Larger Map
Consulate of Canada in Port Harcourt 15 Ahoada Street Rumuibekwe Housing Estate Port Harcourt Nigeria Telephone: 234 (84) 890 903; 234 (806) 399 7054 Fax: No Fax E-mail: [email protected] Website: canadainternational.gc.ca/nigeria/	View Larger Map

 

Canadian Government’s Travel Alerts for Nigeria

For travel alerts, click here

Sponsoring a Nigerian Spouse to Canada

The sponsorship process is difficult and lengthy; to learn more click the button below:

Learn More

Want to know more about marrying in Nigeria? Let us know!

Sponsorship Review

Immigroup will review your completed spousal sponsorship application.. Immigroup will make sure you have not made any mistakes on your application or in gathering the documentation of your relationship. We will assess your sponsorship letter and give you peace of mind that you are submitting an application with a very good chance of success. Don’t lose sleep at night worrying about whether you’ve done enough. Call us at 1-866-760-2623 for a review.