Looking after someone from abroad

Supporting family in Nigeria from Ireland and mainland Europe

Sending €200 from Italy to Nigeria cost 4.55% on average in the third quarter of 2025, from Germany 2.85% and from Spain 2.88%, with the cheapest apps close to zero. The same three questions apply as from the UK: what the money is for, who is spending it, and what happens in the month something goes wrong.

By Kinship · Updated 19 September 2026 · 6 min read · Information, not advice.

The Nigerian community in Europe, in numbers

Ireland: 20,559 residents born in Nigeria at the 2022 census, up 24% on 2016; 8,861 of them aged 45 to 64 and only 276 aged 65 and over. The parents are in Nigeria.
Italy: 132,129 Nigerian citizens resident on 1 January 2025, the largest Nigerian community in continental Europe, concentrated in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto. Italy was among Nigeria's top five remittance sources in the last World Bank bilateral matrix, and Italian data record €257.8 million sent to Nigeria in 2024.
The Netherlands: 22,463 people of Nigerian origin (13,979 born in Nigeria), mostly in North and South Holland. Spain: 36,367 Nigerian nationals in 2022, led by Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Germany: roughly 72,000 (2019), the last figure found.

What it costs to send euros to Nigeria

World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide, Q3 2025, for a €200-equivalent transfer: Italy to Nigeria averaged 4.55% (cheapest 0.74%, dearest 19.31% across ten providers); Germany 2.85% (one app better than the reference rate); Spain 2.88%. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send to, at 8.46% on average.
On 19 September 2026 a €100 transfer from Ireland arrived as between about 152,000 and 161,000 naira depending on the app, against a mid-market rate of about 1,527. Wise charged €7.19 on €1,000. Taptap Send and LemFi advertise no transfer fee to Nigeria, with the margin in the rate.
There is no legal ceiling on how much or how often a private person may send from the EU; anti-money-laundering checks apply, and the sender's identity is verified for transfers above €1,000. SEPA's equal-charges rule applies to euro transfers inside Europe, not to the currency conversion into naira.
Ireland's consumer protection body advises checking that any money transfer provider is on the Central Bank of Ireland's register (registers.centralbank.ie) and comparing the rate as well as the fee.

The three questions, from the eurozone

What is the money for? A fixed monthly sum for food and a separate, larger, unpredictable one for health. Health inflation in Nigeria runs ahead of the headline rate: blood-pressure medicines rose 134% in the private market in one year to February 2024.
Who spends it? The relative on the ground, with all the trust and strain that carries, or a plan in the member's own name that pays hospitals and pharmacies directly within its benefits.
What happens the month something goes wrong? A hospital deposit in Lagos is a cash call at 2am, in a currency that has moved since the last transfer.

A plan in the member's name, from Europe

A Kinship Plan is priced in pounds (Kinship Well from £39 a month, Kinship Visits from £60) and can be paid for from anywhere by card. Several relatives in different countries can chip in to the same plan without one of them collecting from the others.
The member in Nigeria holds the plan, a qualified nurse visits the home in Lagos on the schedule chosen, a named Kinkeeper reviews every visit update, and everyone the member has invited reads the same update in the app, whatever the time zone.
Health benefits apply at network hospitals across Nigeria in the member's name, so the hospital's first question is the card, not the relative abroad.

Questions people ask

Can I pay for a Kinship Plan from Ireland or Italy?

Yes, by card; the plan is priced in pounds and the card issuer converts. Anyone the member invites can chip in from any country.

Which app is cheapest for euros to naira?

It changes weekly. On the World Bank's Q3 2025 data the cheapest providers from Italy, Germany and Spain were under 1%; comparison sites such as Monito show live rates. Compare the naira that arrives, not the fee.

Is sending money regularly to Nigeria a problem with my bank?

Regular transfers are lawful and common. Banks and apps run anti-money-laundering checks and may ask the purpose or source of funds; keeping the transfers consistent and documented avoids friction.

See how a Kinship Plan applies to your situation

Start with your situation and see how the plan applies to it, with prices.

See how a Kinship Plan applies to your situation

Sources

Prices in naira are quoted with their date because they move. Nothing on this page recommends a named provider.

This page is information, not advice. Kinship wrote it from the sources listed above and checked it on the date shown. It is not medical, legal, financial or insurance advice, and it does not take account of any one person's circumstances. Decisions about treatment belong with the person and their doctor; decisions about money, insurance or immigration with the person and a qualified adviser. Our platform terms apply.

Supporting family in Nigeria from Ireland and mainland Europe

By Kinship · Updated 19 September 2026 · 6 min read · Information, not advice.

The Nigerian community in Europe, in numbers

Ireland: 20,559 residents born in Nigeria at the 2022 census, up 24% on 2016; 8,861 of them aged 45 to 64 and only 276 aged 65 and over. The parents are in Nigeria.

Italy: 132,129 Nigerian citizens resident on 1 January 2025, the largest Nigerian community in continental Europe, concentrated in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto. Italy was among Nigeria's top five remittance sources in the last World Bank bilateral matrix, and Italian data record €257.8 million sent to Nigeria in 2024.

The Netherlands: 22,463 people of Nigerian origin (13,979 born in Nigeria), mostly in North and South Holland. Spain: 36,367 Nigerian nationals in 2022, led by Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Germany: roughly 72,000 (2019), the last figure found.

What it costs to send euros to Nigeria

World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide, Q3 2025, for a €200-equivalent transfer: Italy to Nigeria averaged 4.55% (cheapest 0.74%, dearest 19.31% across ten providers); Germany 2.85% (one app better than the reference rate); Spain 2.88%. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send to, at 8.46% on average.

On 19 September 2026 a €100 transfer from Ireland arrived as between about 152,000 and 161,000 naira depending on the app, against a mid-market rate of about 1,527. Wise charged €7.19 on €1,000. Taptap Send and LemFi advertise no transfer fee to Nigeria, with the margin in the rate.

There is no legal ceiling on how much or how often a private person may send from the EU; anti-money-laundering checks apply, and the sender's identity is verified for transfers above €1,000. SEPA's equal-charges rule applies to euro transfers inside Europe, not to the currency conversion into naira.

Ireland's consumer protection body advises checking that any money transfer provider is on the Central Bank of Ireland's register (registers.centralbank.ie) and comparing the rate as well as the fee.

The three questions, from the eurozone

What is the money for? A fixed monthly sum for food and a separate, larger, unpredictable one for health. Health inflation in Nigeria runs ahead of the headline rate: blood-pressure medicines rose 134% in the private market in one year to February 2024.

Who spends it? The relative on the ground, with all the trust and strain that carries, or a plan in the member's own name that pays hospitals and pharmacies directly within its benefits.

What happens the month something goes wrong? A hospital deposit in Lagos is a cash call at 2am, in a currency that has moved since the last transfer.

A plan in the member's name, from Europe

A Kinship Plan is priced in pounds (Kinship Well from £39 a month, Kinship Visits from £60) and can be paid for from anywhere by card. Several relatives in different countries can chip in to the same plan without one of them collecting from the others.

The member in Nigeria holds the plan, a qualified nurse visits the home in Lagos on the schedule chosen, a named Kinkeeper reviews every visit update, and everyone the member has invited reads the same update in the app, whatever the time zone.

Health benefits apply at network hospitals across Nigeria in the member's name, so the hospital's first question is the card, not the relative abroad.

Questions people ask

Can I pay for a Kinship Plan from Ireland or Italy?

Yes, by card; the plan is priced in pounds and the card issuer converts. Anyone the member invites can chip in from any country.

Which app is cheapest for euros to naira?

Is sending money regularly to Nigeria a problem with my bank?

Regular transfers are lawful and common. Banks and apps run anti-money-laundering checks and may ask the purpose or source of funds; keeping the transfers consistent and documented avoids friction.

Supporting family in Nigeria from Ireland and mainland Europe

The Nigerian community in Europe, in numbers

What it costs to send euros to Nigeria

The three questions, from the eurozone

A plan in the member's name, from Europe

Questions people ask

Can I pay for a Kinship Plan from Ireland or Italy?

Which app is cheapest for euros to naira?

Is sending money regularly to Nigeria a problem with my bank?

See how a Kinship Plan applies to your situation

Related

Sources

Supporting family in Nigeria from Ireland and mainland Europe

The Nigerian community in Europe, in numbers

What it costs to send euros to Nigeria

The three questions, from the eurozone

A plan in the member's name, from Europe

Questions people ask

Can I pay for a Kinship Plan from Ireland or Italy?

Which app is cheapest for euros to naira?

Is sending money regularly to Nigeria a problem with my bank?

See how a Kinship Plan applies to your situation

Related

Sources