In the face of US travel restrictions, Nigerians can still study, work, and immigrate to Canada

Nigerians can continue to thrive in Canada’s individual-centric immigration system, despite recent restrictions imposed on them in the United States.

Effective January 1, 2026, Nigerian nationals will be barred entry to the US as the issuance of immigrant visas, and select nonimmigrant visas—including B-1/B-2 (visitor/business), and F, M, and J (student and exchange) visas—has been suspended, while other nonimmigrant visas face restrictions, such as reduced validity.

Canada takes a different approach than its southern neighbor: rather than imposing quotas by country, it judges each temporary or permanent residence (PR) candidate on their own merits and potential risks.

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As a result, Nigerians continue to be treated as future students, workers, residents, and citizens in Canada—not security threats.

Nigerians are often strong immigration candidates to Canada’s

Canada’s main economic and temporary resident pathways tend to reward what many Nigerian applicants already bring to the table:

Strong English ability, which is directly valued across work and PR selection systems, and strongly correlates with short-term and medium-term success in Canada’s labour market;
High levels of recognized education and professional credentials, especially when supported by proper documentation, such as with Education Credential Assessments (ECAs);
Capacity to meet eligibility requirements for temporary resident programs, including proof of funds for many study permit and skilled-worker pathways.
- This can be a barrier to entry for many individuals, but working and/or studying in Canada is a key way to build Canadian education credentials and work experience, which is greatly rewarded in the immigration system.

Even without special facilitations, Nigerians who apply through Canada’s standard, legal pathways—and who provide strong documentation—can and do succeed.

A history of immigration of success

Due to factors including (but not limited to) the above, Nigerians already have a strong track record in Canada’s immigration system.

When considered just in the context of Canada’s main federal economic immigration pathway (Express Entry), applicants from Nigeria tend to perform strongly—consistently ranking among the top five countries of citizenship of successful immigration candidates to Canada:

Year	Ranking among top countries of citizenship that received invitations	Total invitations	Percentage of individuals who received an invitation directly from Nigeria
2023	2nd	7,263	42.5%
2024	3rd	6,696	57.1%

Further, Nigeria was the fifth most popular source country for new immigrants across all of Canada’s economic immigration programs in 2024 (contributing 15,440 new Canadian PRs), and the third most popular country of citizenship among new students, with 26,520 Nigerians admitted to study last year.

Studying in Canada

For Nigerians considering Canada as a study destination, the core pathway remains the standard study permit process.

Applicants generally need a letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution (DLI) and, in most cases, a Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL), which confirms the student has been allocated a spot within a province or territory’s study permit capacity—though certain exemptions are made at the graduate level.

Once in Canada, eligible international students can typically work up to 24 hours off campus while classes are in session and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks (such as summer or winter holidays), as long as they meet the conditions set out on their permit. On campus, they can work unlimited hours. For more details on working while studying, see our article on the topic.

After graduation, many students aim for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), which can help them gain Canadian work experience. PGWPs have a validity period of up to three years, and are extremely valuable for those hoping to eventually immigrate to Canada as PRs.

PGWP eligibility depends on factors like completing an eligible program, maintaining full-time status for most of the program (with allowances in some cases, such as part-time in a final semester), and applying within the required timelines.

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Working in Canada

Nigerians can also come to Canada directly as temporary workers through standard work permit routes.

In many cases, this involves an employer-specific work permit, where the employer supports the process through a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Certain LMIA-exempt routes may also be available depending on an applicant’s circumstances (such as facilitated work permits for some university staff, for example).

Canada also has select open work permit (OWP) options for certain groups (for example, some accompanying family members of certain workers or students, graduates in specific circumstances, and other categories set out by the immigration department). These are not tied to a specific employer and allow foreign nationals to work anywhere in Canada, in most industries.

The exact eligibility depends on the category, skill level of the worker, and the position being hired for.

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Immigrate permanently to Canada

For Nigerians with skilled work experience, Canada’s most prominent federal pathway continues to be Express Entry, which manages applications under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

For many Nigerian applicants outside Canada, the FSWP is often the starting point and may require meeting eligibility and documentation rules, including proof of funds in many cases.

Express Entry is a points-based system; the Comprehensive Ranking System is used to determine how competitive a candidate is by assigning points (a maximum of 1,200) for age, education, language proficiency, and the breadth of your Canadian and foreign work experience. Higher-ranking candidates typically get chosen for selection and invited through routinely held Express Entry draws.

In addition, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has continued to use category-based selection within Express Entry. These selections typically feature lower score requirements, with candidates invited based on attributes such as official language ability or work experience in a particular occupation, depending on the categories announced for a given year.

Many Nigerians may also find success through Canada’s provincial immigration pathways, such as the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). These are regional immigration pathways established by provinces to distribute the benefits of immigration to their respective regions.

These programs have recently received an increase in their admissions allocation, enabling them to nominate more candidates in 2026. PNPs often reward foreign nationals who have prior work experience or education in their specific province, which can be gained on a work or study permit.

Further, Canada also runs a host of pilot programs at the regional and federal level, which can help facilitate permanent residence (PR) for those who meet eligibility criteria, such as: