💡 Why it matters: More people travel, study and work across borders every year. Immigration officers make sure visas, passports and entry rules are followed while treating travellers with respect.
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦1.4M – ₦2.8M
- Mid-career
- ₦2.8M – ₦5.5M
- Senior
- ₦5.5M – ₦13M
≈ ₦233k – ₦458k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇨🇦 Canada
Immigration examining officer. Hourly wage low/high x 2,080 hours; median is for the group of border services, customs and immigration officers. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Check passports and visas at airports and borders
- Interview travellers to confirm why they are travelling
- Process passport and residence applications
- Spot fake documents using special tools
- Help travellers who are lost, stuck or in trouble
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Observation
- Integrity
- Communication
- Languages
- Staying calm
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Complete NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) after graduating
- Join the Nigeria Immigration Service through its recruitment and train at its training school
- Learn French or Arabic to help in border and airport work
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Apply directly to the Home Office, often starting as an assistant immigration officer
- Customer service experience first
🇺🇸 United States
- Apply through USAJOBS (citizenship, tests and background checks are required)
- Military or law enforcement service first
🇨🇦 Canada
- Apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or the Canada Border Services Agency (citizenship and security checks are required)
- Customer service or language-based work first
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Get good school results, especially in English and Maths
- 2Study International Relations or a related degree
- 3Complete any required national service or graduate scheme
- 4Apply to your country's immigration service and pass its screening and training
- 5Grow into airport, border or passport office leadership
⏰ A day in the life
At the airport you greet arriving travellers, check their passports and ask short questions about their trip. Between flights you help someone with a damaged passport and update records on the computer system.