A visa-cost analysis that Sunday PUNCH said it obtained from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) estimates annual spending at ₦75 billion or more, a figure public consular data do not verify.
Sunday PUNCH attributed the estimate to an MFA analysis but did not publish its methodology. The newspaper separately estimated that an unsuccessful application could cost ₦350,000 to ₦1.2 million, including application-center charges, insurance, bookings and documentation. It said the annual total includes costs beyond visa fees, but did not specify how much of that sum applicants lost after refusals.
European Commission (EC) figures show that consulates in Nigeria recorded 113,359 short-stay visa applications in 2025, with 53,196 visas not issued. The data are grouped by consulate location, so they do not show how many Nigerian nationals were refused visas after applying in other countries.
That distinction matters for another figure in the Sunday PUNCH report: 250,000 unsuccessful Schengen applications by Nigerians in 2025. EC consular data cannot verify that worldwide, nationality-based estimate.
Across EU and Schengen-associated consulates, the short-stay visa refusal rate was 14.6% in 2025, down from 14.8% in 2024. For applications at consulates in Nigeria, the rate was 45.9% in 2024, compared with 40.8% in 2023, the Commission reported.
Sunday PUNCH also put Canada’s refusal rate for Nigerian study-permit applications at 75% from January through April 2026. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported overall refusal rates of 59% for new study permits in 2025 and 62% as of Jan. 31, 2026; those figures cover different periods and do not confirm the Nigeria-specific estimate. Canadian rules require an officer to be satisfied that a student will leave when the authorized stay ends.
Refund policies vary by destination and charge. The Schengen Visa Code generally makes its visa fee nonrefundable. The U.S. Department of State says nonimmigrant visa application processing fees are nonrefundable, while UK guidance says Standard Visitor visa fees are not returned after refusal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) says applicants are not charged a visa fee when an application does not result in a visa; the application center in Nigeria says its service and courier charges are nonrefundable.
