A visa officer reviewing a business or invitation-based application has never met the applicant, never seen the company, and has no way of independently confirming any of it is real. The entire case rests on the documents in the file — and a surprising number of avoidable rejections trace back to those documents not being properly authenticated.

What Business Visa Applications Actually Require

For visitors coming to Nigeria on business, standard requirements typically include a letter of invitation from the host organisation, a letter of introduction from the applicant's own company, and copies of the Nigerian host company's Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum and Articles of Association. On the applicant's side, business letters are commonly required to be printed on official company letterhead and signed by a senior officer of the company — not a generic template, and not an unsigned printout.

Where Notarization Comes In

Certain supporting documents go a step further than letterhead and signature. Parental consent letters for minors travelling without both parents, for instance, are routinely required to be notarized — a formal step confirming the signature was made before a notary and is genuinely what it claims to be. Applicants who skip this, assuming a signed letter is enough, are one of the more common reasons this specific document gets rejected or the application delayed for resubmission.

Why the Company Seal Still Matters Here

A letter on company letterhead, signed by a director, carries more weight when it also bears the company's official seal — it's an additional, physical marker that the document genuinely originated from the organisation it claims to, not something assembled for the occasion. For businesses that regularly send staff abroad or host international visitors, having a consistent process — proper letterhead, an authorised signatory, and the company seal, every time — removes one of the more preventable reasons an application stalls.

Getting the Documentation Right

  • Use genuine company letterhead — not a generic template dressed up to look official.
  • Get the letter signed by an appropriately senior officer, as most requirements specify.
  • Apply the company seal where the document supports a business claim — it reinforces authenticity.
  • Notarize anything that explicitly requires it — especially parental consent and similar declarations.
  • Keep CAC documents current and ready — Certificate of Incorporation copies are a routine requirement for business visa support.