Clearing customs at the Nigerian border

Nigerian customs are strict and bureaucratic, but if you follow the laws and rely on your shipping company’s knowledge, you may get through the process very quickly.Before your relocation, most shipping companies in Nigeria will provide you all the documents you’ll need to fill out.You’ll need your passport, visa, work permit, and residency permit to clear customs, and that’s before we get to the shipping documents, which are as follows:

-A full and detailed inventory
-Authorisation letter
-Bill of lading (sign the front page in advance)
-Certificate of Residence Change
-Clean Report of Finding
-Clean Report of Inspection
-Form Sale 48
-PUBD (Passengers Unaccompanied Baggage Declaration) form, to be completed upon arrival in Nigeria

Due to the sheer volume of documents you need to fill in during this process, we would strongly recommend using a shipping company to ensure you clear customs without any fuss.Household goods and personal effects you’ve owned for at least six months are duty-free, along with gifts worth up to ₦50,000  as long as you’ve been outside of Nigeria for the past nine months, and you don’t intend to sell or otherwise exchange any of the items.Otherwise, duty rates can go as high as 35%.You must be present at customs when your shipment comes in, and it must arrive within two months of you landing in Nigeria.

What can’t you bring with you?

The Nigerian government has released two pages of items you’re not allowed to bring into the country: an import prohibition list, and another list entitled ‘Goods: the importation of which is absolutely prohibited’.The lists are comprehensive, extremely detailed, and occasionally surprising, banning items from mosquito-repelling coils to bagged cement and second-hand clothing.Make sure you read them thoroughly, as importing a prohibited item can land you in prison.