How to Ship to Nigeria from the UK in 2026: A Step by Step Guide

Shipping to Nigeria from the UK is simple once you know the steps. Whether you are sending one box of gifts to family or a pallet of stock for your shop, the process is the same: pick the right service, work out what you will be charged, pack and document the goods correctly, and hand them over to a company that clears Nigerian customs for you.

This guide walks through each step in order, with the costs, documents, duty rates and timelines you need at each stage. It is written by the R-Zone Cargo team, who have shipped between the UK and Nigeria since 2012.

If you want rates and service details first, see our cargo from UK to Nigeria rate guide.

Courier or cargo company?

An express courier carries your parcel on its own network and charges per parcel, which is convenient for a document or a small box but expensive per kilogram. A cargo company such as R-Zone consolidates many customers' goods into one air or sea shipment, so the cost per kilogram drops sharply, and the price usually includes Nigerian customs clearance and delivery.

For anything above a few kilograms, a cargo company is almost always the cheaper choice. See air freight vs sea freight to Nigeria for a deeper comparison.

Before you get a quote, list everything you plan to ship. This helps you choose the right service and avoids surprises at customs.

• Group items by type: clothing, electronics, food, household goods, documents
• Note anything fragile or valuable that may need extra packing or insurance
• Flag regulated goods such as food, cosmetics, medicine and electrical items
• Decide on urgency: needed within two weeks means air; otherwise sea is cheaper

Every cargo company charges on chargeable weight, which is the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric (size-based) weight.

Worked example

A box measuring 60 × 40 × 40cm that weighs 12kg on the scales:

1. 1Volume: 60 × 40 × 40 = 96,000
2. 2Air volumetric weight: 96,000 ÷ 6,000 = 16kg
3. 3Actual weight is 12kg, so the chargeable weight is 16kg
4. 4At £5.50/kg by air, the freight is roughly £80

The lesson: a large, light box costs more than its weight suggests. Use the smallest box that fits and fill it completely. Full explanation: what is volumetric weight.

• Use new double-walled boxes and fill every gap
• Wrap fragile items individually and mark the box FRAGILE
• Vacuum-pack clothing and bedding to save volume
• Seal liquids in zip bags and keep bottles upright
• Put a contents list inside each box and keep a copy
• Label each box with the recipient's name, Nigerian address (state and LGA) and phone number, your UK phone number and your booking reference

Step by step instructions: how to pack cargo for Nigeria.

R-Zone prepares the UK export paperwork and the Nigerian customs declaration for you. Your job is to give us an accurate, itemised list. Under-declaring is the most common reason cargo is held in Lagos.

1. 1Request a quote with your item list, box sizes, UK postcode and Nigerian delivery city.
2. 2Confirm and pay by bank transfer, card or PayPal.
3. 3Hand over your cargo by booking a collection from your address or dropping off at our Upminster, Essex warehouse.
4. 4Track it using your booking reference, Air Waybill or Bill of Lading number on the tracking page.
5. 5Delivery to the recipient's door, with a call from our Nigeria team before arrival.

See the London and England areas we collect from in cargo to Nigeria from London and England.

Typical costs, London to Lagos

For all states, see our schedules and prices page.

Import duty is set by the ECOWAS Common External Tariff and charged on the CIF value (cost, insurance and freight), with 7.5% VAT on top for dutiable goods. Typical bands:

Most personal-use household goods attract little or no duty. Duty rules change, so treat these as a guide; R-Zone confirms what applies to your shipment before it leaves the UK. Full breakdown: Nigeria customs duty guide.

Times run from the day R-Zone receives your cargo. Door to door adds UK collection time, so allow 7 to 14 working days by air and 5 to 8 weeks by sea. More detail: how long shipping from the UK to Nigeria takes.

Demand from the UK to Nigeria spikes around holidays, and space on flights and sailings fills up. Plan around these dates:

Sending for the festive season? Read how to send cargo to Nigeria for Christmas.

• Using oversized boxes, which pushes up the volumetric weight
• Under-declaring values, which leads to customs holds and delays
• Packing restricted items such as unsealed food, aerosols or medicine without checking first
• Incomplete labels, especially a missing Nigerian phone number
• Leaving it late before Christmas, when prices and wait times rise
• Choosing on price alone without checking that customs clearance and delivery are included
• Skipping insurance on valuable goods; carrier liability is limited

R-Zone has shipped between the UK and Nigeria since 2012, with 50,000+ shipments delivered and 120+ five-star reviews. We run weekly air and sea departures, clear customs with our own Lagos team, and deliver to all 36 states.

Air from £5.50/kg · Sea from £3/kg · Door to door from £6/kg.

Call +44 (0) 800 772 0864, WhatsApp +44 7915 647 119, or get a free quote online. Answers to other common questions are in our UK to Nigeria cargo FAQ.