Do Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Georgia?
By Arun Singh · Destinations Writer, Tripmojo · Updated · Reviewed by Simran Raheja
Yes, but there are two ways in and most people only know about one. Nigerian passport holders are not on Georgia’s visa-free list and normally need a Georgian e-visa, applied for online, giving 30 days within a 120-day period. However, Georgia also admits anyone holding a valid visa or residence permit from the EU, EFTA, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, New Zealand or the Gulf states, without a Georgian visa at all, for up to 90 days in any 180.
Quick facts
Travel authorisation- Visa required
- Yes, unless you qualify by holding another country’s visa
- Standard route
- Georgian e-visa, applied for online
- E-visa stay
- 30 days within a 120-day period
- Substitute-visa route
- 90 days in any 180, no Georgian visa needed
- Nigeria-specific condition
- A Gulf visa or permit must be valid at least 1 year
- Passport validity
- At least six months beyond entry
- Schengen rules
- Do not apply. Georgia is outside the Schengen Area
Entry requirements
- A Nigerian passport valid for at least six months beyond your date of entry.
- Either an approved Georgian e-visa, or a qualifying foreign visa or residence permit that you can produce at the border.
- Proof of the purpose of travel, accommodation for the stay, and funds to support yourself.
- Travel and health insurance covering the period of the visit.
- A return or onward booking. Border officers can ask for it and this is a route where they do.
How to enter Georgia from Nigeria
Check the substitute-visa route first, because if it applies to you the Georgian visa becomes unnecessary. Holding a currently valid visa or residence permit from an EU or EFTA state, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, New Zealand or a Gulf Cooperation Council country lets you enter Georgia without applying to Georgia at all, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
If that does not apply, use the Georgian e-visa. It is applied for online and carries the same legal weight as a sticker visa in the passport. Allow two to four weeks before travel rather than assuming it is instant.
The e-visa gives a single entry of 30 days within a 120-day period, which is a shorter and differently shaped allowance than the 90-in-180 the substitute route gives. If the trip is longer than a month, the difference between the two routes is not cosmetic.
At the border, present the passport with either the e-visa approval or the qualifying foreign visa. If you are relying on the second, carry the document itself rather than a photograph of it.
Good to know
- The substitute-visa route is the thing worth knowing and almost nobody mentions it. A Nigerian passport holder with a live US, UK, Schengen or Canadian visa in the passport can fly to Tbilisi without applying to Georgia for anything. It is a real policy, it gives a longer stay than the e-visa does, and it costs nothing. Check what is already in your passport before you start an application you may not need.
- Nigeria is one of seventeen nationalities where that route was tightened, and the detail matters. Since April 2025 a qualifying Gulf visa or residence permit must be valid for at least one year on the day you enter Georgia, not merely valid. The countries affected alongside Nigeria are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen. A UAE residence permit with eight months left on it used to be enough and is not any more.
- That one-year condition applies to Gulf documents specifically. A Schengen, UK, US or Canadian visa still qualifies on ordinary terms, so a Nigerian traveller with a European visa is unaffected by the 2025 change while one relying on a Dubai residence permit may not be. The two situations look identical on a passport page and are not.
- The two routes give different stays and it is easy to assume the longer one. The e-visa is 30 days inside a 120-day period; the substitute route is 90 days inside 180. Someone who applies for the e-visa out of caution, while already holding a qualifying foreign visa, ends up with a third of the stay they were entitled to and has paid for the privilege.
Frequently asked questions
Do Nigerian citizens need a visa for Georgia?
Normally yes, applied for online as a Georgian e-visa. But holders of a valid EU, EFTA, UK, US, Canadian, Australian, Japanese, South Korean, Israeli, New Zealand or Gulf visa or residence permit can enter without one.
Can I enter Georgia on my US or Schengen visa?
Yes. Georgia admits holders of a valid visa or residence permit from those countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, with no Georgian visa required.
What changed for Nigerians in 2025?
A Gulf visa or residence permit used as the qualifying document must now be valid for at least one year on the day you enter Georgia. Nigeria is one of seventeen nationalities that condition applies to.
How long does the Georgian e-visa allow?
Thirty days within a 120-day period. That is shorter than the 90 days in 180 available through the substitute-visa route, so check which one you qualify for before applying.
Does ETIAS or the EES apply to Georgia?
No. Georgia is outside the Schengen Area and the EU, so neither applies to a Georgian entry. They would apply to any Schengen leg of the same journey.
Related pages
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on .
- Wikipedia, Visa policy of Georgia — Nigeria not visa-exempt; e-visa available at 30 days within a 120-day period; holders of valid visas or residence permits of EU, EFTA, GCC and listed countries may enter visa-free for 90 days in any 180 (en.wikipedia.org)
- Georgia Today — from April 2025, citizens of 17 countries including Nigeria must hold a Gulf visa or residence permit valid at least one year on the day of entry (georgiatoday.ge)
Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.
