WellnessOSby Extraordinary Azuka

Travel Health Advisory · updated October 2026

Travel well.
Come back well.

Visa medical cover, yellow card, Hajj vaccines, your medicines at the airport and what to do if you fall ill abroad. Written for Nigerians, checked against the rules that actually get applications rejected.

Pick my destinationBuild my trip timeline
€30kminimum Schengen medical cover — one missing word on the certificate can sink the visa
29Schengen countries your policy must name — not just the one you are visiting
10 daysthe latest you can take meningitis ACWY before arriving for Hajj or Umrah
1 cardthe yellow fever certificate: valid for life, and checked at more borders than you think

Step 1

Where are you going?

Tap a destination. You get what is required, what is merely wise, and the trap that catches Nigerians most often.

Step 2 · 60-second check

Will your Schengen insurance pass?

Hold your certificate next to this list. Tick only what the certificate itself says — not what the agent told you.

Based on EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, the Schengen Visa Code, Article 15.

Tick what your certificate shows.
Send my certificate for a free check

Step 3 · Your trip timeline

Tell us when you fly. We'll tell you what to do, and when.

Your step-by-step countdown appears here — visa cover, vaccines, medicines and what to do when you land. Tick items off as you go; add the whole timeline to your phone calendar in one tap.

Vaccines & documents

The three cards Nigerians get stopped for.

Often required

Yellow fever

Nigeria is a yellow-fever country, so many destinations ask Nigerian arrivals for the certificate. One dose gives lifelong protection and the certificate is valid for life. Get it from an approved vaccination centre — bought “yellow cards” are flagged and can get you refused at boarding.

Hajj & Umrah

Meningitis ACWY

Every pilgrim needs the ACWY vaccine, given no more than 5 years and no less than 10 days before arrival in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims from Nigeria also need a polio dose (IPV or oral) at least 4 weeks before travel, recorded on the yellow card. COVID-19 vaccination proof is also listed for Hajj 2026.

Source: Saudi MoH requirements for Hajj 2026, via NAHCON.

Everywhere

Your medicine papers

Carry every medicine in its original labelled pack with a doctor's letter naming the drug and dose. Strong painkillers and some cough syrups (codeine, tramadol) and certain sleep or anxiety tablets are controlled in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and many other countries — travelling without a prescription can mean arrest, not just confiscation.

If you fall ill abroad

Call the insurer before you pay, if you can.

  1. Emergency first: chest pain, breathing trouble, stroke signs, heavy bleeding — use the local emergency number (112 works across the EU; 999 in the UK; 911 in the US and Canada; 997/998 in Saudi Arabia; 999/998 in the UAE).
  2. Not an emergency: call the 24-hour number on your certificate first. Many insurers only pay directly if they authorised the hospital.
  3. Keep every receipt, report and prescription. Photograph them the same day.
  4. Tell the hospital you are insured and give them the policy number before discharge.
  5. Back home with a fever within 3 months? Test for malaria and say where you travelled — your immunity may have dropped while you were away.

Before you pay for any policy

Nine questions to ask the seller

    Get it done properly

    Want a travel medical policy that passes the document check first time?

    Tell Azuka where and when. You get a quote that meets the mission's wording, the certificate in the right format, and a human who checks it before you submit. Health cover for the family you leave behind, too — because the bill at home doesn't stop when you travel.

    See health plansCover The Ones ↗

    Request a travel cover quote

    This advisory is general education, not legal or immigration advice, and rules change. Always confirm with the embassy, the visa centre or the Saudi Ministry of Health (through NAHCON for Hajj) before you travel. Sources: EU Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 Art. 15; Saudi Ministry of Health Hajj 2026 health requirements published by NAHCON; WHO International Health Regulations (yellow fever certificate validity); UK NHS overseas visitor charging regulations; IRCC Super Visa medical insurance rules.