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Australia visa medical in Nigeria: the only approved clinics in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu

Visa guide · 2026-10-11 · 7 min read

If you are booking a health exam for an Australian or New Zealand visa from Nigeria, only one thing matters: the clinic has to be on that country's own approved panel physician list. Australia's Department of Home Affairs lists panel physicians in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. Immigration New Zealand lists five panel physicians in Nigeria, all enabled for its eMedical system. A result from any other clinic, however good, will not count.

Why it has to be a panel physician, not just any doctor

Most visa applicants must meet a health requirement designed to protect the Australian community from public health risks, especially active tuberculosis. To satisfy it, Home Affairs requires that health examinations outside Australia be done by one of its approved panel physicians or clinics, and you need a HAP ID to book the appointment at all. Immigration New Zealand runs the same kind of restriction: chest X-rays and medical examinations for an NZ visa must be done by a doctor or radiologist on INZ's own approved panel physician list for your country. Both agencies publish their own full lists online (Home Affairs' health requirement page and INZ's panel physician finder), and it is worth checking them yourself rather than relying on a name an agent gives you.

Australia's approved clinics in Nigeria

Home Affairs names the IOM Migration Health Assessment Centre (MHAC) Lagos, on Isaac John Street in Ikeja GRA, and IOM MHAC Abuja, on Hassan Musa Katsina Road in Asokoro, for medical and radiology examinations. Alongside the two IOM centres, Home Affairs also lists The Consultants Practice in Ikoyi, Lagos; Medbury Medical Services (Medbury Travel Clinic) in Lekki, Lagos; Cerulean Health Consulting Services Limited in Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos; and Upper North Junction Hospital and Maternity in Trans Ekulu, Enugu.

New Zealand's panel in Nigeria: five clinics, all eMedical

Immigration New Zealand lists five panel physicians in Nigeria, and all five are enabled for eMedical, its electronic system for sending results straight to INZ: Qlife Family Clinic (Victoria Island, Lagos), The Consultants Practice (Lagos), IOM MHAC Lagos, IOM MHAC Abuja and Cerulean Health Consulting Services Limited (Maryland, Lagos). Two of those, IOM MHAC Abuja and Cerulean, also appear on Australia's own list, which is useful if you are weighing offers from both countries at once.

Applying from Port Harcourt, Kano or anywhere else

Neither Home Affairs nor Immigration New Zealand lists a panel physician outside Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. If you live in Port Harcourt, Kano or another city, you will need to travel to one of the listed clinics for your appointment; there is no shortcut clinic closer to home that either visa system will accept. Book your appointment before you travel if you can, since these centres serve applicants from across the country.

1. Work out which visa you are applying for (Australia or New Zealand) and open that country's own panel list for Nigeria, since the two lists are not identical.
2. Pick a listed clinic in Lagos, Abuja or Enugu and contact it directly to book, rather than going through a third party.
3. For an Australian visa, get your HAP ID first so the clinic can link your results to your application; for a New Zealand visa, confirm the clinic is eMedical enabled so results go straight to Immigration New Zealand.
4. Attend the appointment, pay the clinic directly, and keep your own copy of any paperwork the clinic gives you.
5. Check the result validity window for your visa (12 months for subclass 482) and avoid lodging so early that results expire before a decision is made.

How long your results last, and when to book

For the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), health examination results are generally valid for 12 months, and Home Affairs advises organising them before you lodge your application to reduce processing times. For New Zealand's Accredited Employer Work Visa, applicants staying more than six months need a chest X-ray if they are a citizen of, or spent more than three months in the last five years in, a country without a low incidence of tuberculosis, which covers most Nigerian applicants. Book early enough that a repeat test, if one is ever needed, will not blow your travel date.

Paying for your medical, and avoiding scams

In the New Zealand system, only approved panel doctors and other registered doctors can accept payment for immigration medicals; Immigration New Zealand itself never asks for medical payments. If anyone contacting you about your visa asks you to pay them directly for a medical exam, stop and book with the clinic yourself instead.

Getting the rest of your paperwork lined up

A visa medical is only one document among several. If you have not yet pulled together your passport, police certificate and school verifications, our guide on documents needed to relocate to Australia from Nigeria sets out the right order. And before you pay any agency a naira, check our piece on how to check if your recruitment agency is really licensed. Hands-on roles for sponsored workers are listed on our manufacturing jobs page, including a boilermaker and metal fabricator role in Perth.

Common mistakes applicants make

Booking with a general practitioner or travel clinic that is not on either country's official panel list, then discovering the results are not accepted. Assuming a clinic approved for Australia is automatically approved for New Zealand, or the other way around; check the specific list for the visa you are applying for. Leaving the health exam until after lodging the visa application, when Home Affairs advises organising it beforehand. Letting a recruiter or agent collect medical payment on your behalf instead of paying the clinic directly.

Frequently asked questions

Which clinics does Australia approve for a visa medical in Nigeria?

Home Affairs lists panel physicians in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu, including IOM MHAC Lagos, IOM MHAC Abuja, The Consultants Practice, Medbury Medical Services, Cerulean Health Consulting Services Limited, and Upper North Junction Hospital and Maternity.

Which clinics does New Zealand approve for a visa medical in Nigeria?

Immigration New Zealand lists five panel physicians, all eMedical enabled: Qlife Family Clinic, The Consultants Practice, IOM MHAC Lagos, IOM MHAC Abuja and Cerulean Health Consulting Services Limited.

Can I use a doctor outside Lagos, Abuja or Enugu?

No. Neither country lists a panel physician in any other Nigerian city, so applicants elsewhere need to travel to one of the listed clinics.

How long is my Australian visa health result valid?

For the subclass 482 visa, results are generally valid for 12 months, and Home Affairs recommends completing the exam before you lodge your application.

Do I need a chest X-ray for New Zealand's AEWV?

If you plan to stay more than six months, yes: applicants from a country without a low incidence of tuberculosis, which includes Nigeria, need a chest X-ray as part of the health requirement.

Who should I pay for my medical exam?

Pay the approved panel clinic directly. Immigration New Zealand says only panel and other registered doctors can accept payment for immigration medicals, and it never collects medical payments itself.

Key takeaways

• Only Home Affairs' approved panel physicians, in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu, count for an Australian visa medical from Nigeria.
• Immigration New Zealand lists five eMedical-enabled panel physicians, all in Lagos or Abuja.
• There is no listed panel clinic outside those three cities; applicants elsewhere must travel.
• Subclass 482 health results are generally valid 12 months; AEWV applicants staying over six months usually need a chest X-ray.
• Pay the clinic directly: INZ never asks for medical payments itself, and the same caution applies with any agent in Australia's process.

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