Employers hiring their first foreign staff member in Nigeria usually ask for "the CERPAC" as if it's a single, standalone application. It isn't. CERPAC sits on top of a separate approval that has to exist first, and conflating the two is where a lot of avoidable delay comes from.
Here's how the two pieces actually connect, and what changed with the digital process introduced in 2025.
Two approvals, two different jobs
Expatriate Quota is granted to the company, not the individual. It authorises a Nigerian business to employ a specific number of foreign nationals in specific, approved roles. Without an approved quota position matching the role you're hiring for, there's nothing for an individual CERPAC application to attach to.
CERPAC (Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card) is the individual's residence and work permit, granted once someone is filling an approved quota position. It's what legally allows that specific person to live and work in Nigeria.
An employer with no existing expatriate quota approval can't shortcut straight to a CERPAC application for a new hire. The quota position has to exist, or be applied for and approved, first.
The process, in the order it actually happens
- Confirm or apply for the Expatriate Quota position. If your company already holds an approved quota with an open slot matching the role, this step is just confirmation. If not, this means applying to the Federal Ministry of Interior, justifying why the role genuinely requires a foreign hire rather than a Nigerian one.
- The prospective employee applies for an STR (Subject-to-Regularization) visa at a Nigerian embassy or consulate in their home country, submitting supporting documents tied to the approved quota position.
- The employee enters Nigeria on the STR visa and, within the required window, regularises their status into a CERPAC, the residence permit and aliens card that formalises their legal stay and work authorisation.
What changed with the Expatriate Administration System
In 2025, the Federal Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service launched the Expatriate Administration System (EAS), a digital platform that moved quota applications, business permit requests, and CERPAC processing fully online. Employers now submit supporting documents (proof of employment, business justification for the role, and payment of applicable fees) through the platform rather than a paper-based, in-person process.
A digital process doesn't remove the underlying eligibility requirements, it just changes where you submit them. Employers who assume "it's all online now, so it's simpler" still get tripped up by the same quota-eligibility questions as before.
This is a genuine improvement in processing transparency, but it hasn't changed the core structure: quota approval still has to exist before CERPAC processing can begin, and the justification for hiring a foreign national into a specific role still gets scrutinised.
Where employers actually lose time
- Assuming quota approval is a formality. It isn't. The Ministry expects a genuine justification for why the specific role requires a foreign hire, not a generic "we need international expertise" statement.
- Starting CERPAC paperwork before quota approval is confirmed. Without an approved, open quota position, there's nothing for the CERPAC application to regularise against.
- Missing the regularisation window after entry. The STR visa is explicitly a "subject to regularization" status, not a standalone work permit. Entering the country doesn't complete the process; regularising into a CERPAC within the required timeframe does.
- Letting the CERPAC lapse without tracking renewal. Since it's tied to a fixed validity period linked to the quota, this is a recurring compliance item, not a one-time task, similar to how CAC annual returns work for company registration.
Can a business with no existing expatriate quota hire a foreign employee at all?
Yes, but the business first needs to apply for and be granted a quota position for that specific role before the employee's CERPAC process can begin. This is a separate application from the individual's paperwork.
Does the foreign employee need a job offer before applying for the STR visa?
Yes. The STR visa application is tied to the employer's approved quota position, so it depends on a confirmed role with a Nigerian company holding (or actively securing) the relevant quota approval.
Can an expatriate on a CERPAC work for a company other than their sponsor?
No. A CERPAC is tied to the sponsoring employer and the specific approved role. Working outside that sponsorship is a compliance breach, not a grey area.
Managing this as one coordinated process
Because quota approval and CERPAC processing are sequential, not parallel, the employers who move fastest are the ones who confirm quota eligibility before making a foreign hire, not after. Awal Global Consults handles Expatriate Quota applications, CERPAC processing through the current digital system, and the renewal tracking that keeps a foreign employee's status current, as one coordinated engagement rather than three separate fires.
Need help with this?
Awal Global Consults manages Expatriate Quota and CERPAC applications end-to-end through the current digital process, from initial eligibility through renewal.