The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has witnessed series of changes since it was extracted from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in 1958. The Immigration Department, as it was known then, was entrusted with the core immigration duties under the headship of the Chief Federal Immigration Officer (CFIO). The department in its emergent stage inherited the Immigration Ordinance of 1958 for its operation. At inception, the department had a narrow operational scope and maintained a low profile and simple approach in attaining the desired goals and objectives of the government. During this period, only the Visa and Business Sections were set up.

On August 1st, 1963, Immigration Department came of age when it was formally established by an Act of Parliament ( Cap 171, Laws of the Federation Nigeria ). The head of the department then was the Director of Immigration. Thus, the first set of Immigration officers were former NPF Officers. It became a  department under the control and supervision of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs ( FMIA ) as a Civil Service outfit. Since that time the service has come a long way in its march toward reformations and restructuring to be better positioned for the implementation of modern migration management.

The structure has been changed to accommodate added responsibilities as well as emerging regional and sub-regional political alignments. The implication was the introduction of the ECOWAS and African affairs/bilateral division. Similarly aliens control and border patrol management were added to the responsibilities of the service. Furthermore the service was saddled with the responsibility for the issuance of all Nigerian travel documents.