Medical Treatment in India from Nigeria: A Patient's Guide

Last checked: 16 September 2026. The official sources for every fact are listed at the end of this guide.

If you are in Nigeria and have decided on treatment in India, the hard part is not choosing India — it is the paperwork, the visa and organising everything from Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt. This guide sets out exactly what the Indian High Commission in Abuja requires, in the order you will need it, and how Meridian helps you through it. It is built from the mission's own published requirements, not from a facilitator blog.

How Meridian helps a Nigerian patient

We are a service that connects international patients with NABH- or JCI-accredited hospitals in India and coordinates the journey end to end. For a patient in Nigeria that means:

• We take your diagnosis and reports and send them to the international-patient office of a suitable partner hospital, so a specialist can review your case and prepare a written estimate.
• We arrange the hospital invitation letter you need for the visa — only the treating Indian hospital can issue it.
• A dedicated coordinator walks you through the Abuja visa requirements below, keeps in touch on WhatsApp, and stays with you after you return home.

You pay the hospital directly, against its written estimate, and the invoice is in your name.

What the Indian High Commission in Abuja requires

India issues a Medical Visa (and a matching Medical Attendant visa for family) to Nigerian applicants. According to the High Commission of India in Abuja, a medical-visa application needs, in addition to the passport and standard form:

• A referral letter from a Nigerian hospital — typed, in original, on the hospital's letterhead with contact details, stamped and signed, from a well-reputed hospital or medical institute.
• An invitation letter from the Indian hospital — typed on letterhead, stamped and signed, specifying the nature of the treatment and the start and end dates. (See our guide on the hospital invitation letter.)
• Yellow fever vaccination — compulsory for everyone travelling to India except infants under six months.
• Oral polio / IPV vaccination — a mandatory requirement for residents of polio-affected countries, which include Nigeria; the certificate is valid for one year from the date it is given.
• A certified bank statement for the last three months (or a bank guarantee letter) in the applicant's name, showing you can meet the expenses.

The medical-visa fee quoted by the Abuja mission is US$252 (this includes a US$2 surcharge). The fee is set by the mission and can change, so confirm it on the official page below before you pay.

Is Nigeria really the biggest source of patients to India?

You will often read that Nigeria sends more patients to India than any other African country. That claim traces to facilitator marketing rather than current data. On the Government of India's own tourism figures, Kenya is the larger confirmed source market in recent years, and the most recent published Nigerian figure is several years old. It does not change anything for your case — but it is a good example of why we cite official sources and you should be wary of pages that do not.

Your next steps

• Gather your diagnosis and reports (and English translations if they are in another language) — see the documents checklist below.
• Message us with your treatment area; we get your records to a partner hospital and return a written estimate and the invitation letter.
• Apply for the e-Medical Visa online, or through the mission where an e-visa is not available — see the step-by-step visa guide for Nigeria.

*This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice. Confirm visa requirements with the relevant Indian mission and your treatment plan with a qualified doctor.*