Many people want to travel abroad but do not yet have the Nigeria international passport.

Many others have the Nigeria passport but have never ventured ouside Nigeria. They use it as ID card for now, till time comes when they can finally find their way out of Nigeria.

Some persons have the Nigeria passport and actively use it for travelling.

Whichever category you belong, here are 6 random facts about the Nigeria passport you might find interesting.

1. Before 2009, a married woman had to get the permission of her husband before applying for a Nigeria passport.

Thanks to Dr Priye Iyalla-Amadi (wife of popular author Elecho Amadi) this policy no longer holds.

She challenged the Nigeria Immigration Service in court and won the case on June 2009. Now married women who want a passport only need marriage certificate and other proofs of change of name (together with the usual passport requirements)

2.There are 5 different types of Nigeria international passport

Types of passport is something that used to confuse not only me, but also a lot of people. There are actually 5 different types:

i. Official passports for some government officials due to their high position and the duty they perform.
ii. Diplomatic passport for Nigeria diplomats.
iii. Seafarers Passport for Seamen
iv. Pilgrims passport for people travelling to other country for religious pilgrimage, And
v. Standard epassport: This is the official Nigeria international travel document all Nigerians qualify for by right.
And this is the one most people know as the Nigeria international passport.

Except you are a governement official; a diplomat, a seaman or a pilgrim of any religious prientation, you are only eligible for the standard epassport.

3.The standard epassport is further divided into 2 types: standard passport and enhanced epassport.

The enhnaced epassport is the new version of the Nigeria passport. It costs more than the standard passport and is linked to your BVN

It has more security features and has a category with 10 years validity. Nevertheless, both standard and enhanced epassports can be used to travel abroad

4. Nigeria passport can give you visa free access or visa on arrival to 47 countries (as at June 2020).

This is on the condition that you can show evidence of proof of funds, return ticket, or/and accommodation

Some of these countries include: Barbados, Cambodia, ECOWAS countries, Iran etc.

None of these countries are in Europe though. Dubai/UAE is not in the list also. Although it is easy to visit Dubai from Nigeria.

5. Persons under the age of 18 cannot get passport with more than 5 years validity.

This is in line with the international Civil Aviation Organization ICAO recommendations.
Because it is considered that minors have rapidly changing physical features due to growth.
At some point the resemblance between them and the picture in their passport will diminish


6. Your passport is considered to have expired starting from 6 months to the end of its validity date.

Some countries will not grant you visa if you have 6 months or less left on your passport. Also they wont grant you visa if you have just a few pages left on your passport.

One of the reason that might be behind this policy is that many countries allow you stay in their country for between 3 to 6 months after your visa has expired.

If they grant you a visa when your passport's validity is less than 6 months, it is possible to legally overstay your visa. And when it is time to travel back, your passport will now have exceeded its validity date.

And you cannot board an international flight with an expired passport except maybe through deportation. You see the conundrum?

Hope you enjoyed this.

Want to apply for the international passport?

You can get a free comprehensive guide on the steps to apply and get a fresh Nigeria passport.

Just send "fresh passport guide" via whatsapp to 09060978669

And the guide will be Whatsapped to you

iknowexperts:
Many people want to travel abroad but do not yet have the Nigeria international passport.

Many others have the Nigeria passport but have never ventured ouside Nigeria. They use it as ID card for now, till time comes when they can finally find their way out of Nigeria.

Some persons have the Nigeria passport and actively use it for travelling.

Whichever category you belong, here are 6 random facts about the Nigeria passport you might find interesting.

1. Before 2009, a married woman had to get the permission of her husband before applying for a Nigeria passport.

Thanks to Dr Priye Iyalla-Amadi (wife of popular author Elecho Amadi) this policy no longer holds.

She challenged the Nigeria Immigration Service in court and won the case on June 2009. Now married women who want a passport only need marriage certificate and other proofs of change of name (together with the usual passport requirements)

2.There are 5 different types of Nigeria international passport

Types of passport is something that used to confuse not only me, but also a lot of people. There are actually 5 different types:

i. Official passports for some government officials due to their high position and the duty they perform.
ii. Diplomatic passport for Nigeria diplomats.
iii. Seafarers Passport for Seamen
iv. Pilgrims passport for people travelling to other country for religious pilgrimage, And
v. Standard epassport: This is the official Nigeria international travel document all Nigerians qualify for by right.
And this is the one most people know as the Nigeria international passport.

Except you are a governement official; a diplomat, a seaman or a pilgrim of any religious prientation, you are only eligible for the standard epassport.

3.The standard epassport is further divided into 2 types: standard passport and enhanced epassport.

The enhnaced epassport is the new version of the Nigeria passport. It costs more than the standard passport and is linked to your BVN

It has more security features and has a category with 10 years validity. Nevertheless, both standard and enhanced epassports can be used to travel abroad

4. Nigeria passport can give you visa free access or visa on arrival to 47 countries (as at June 2020).

This is on the condition that you can show evidence of proof of funds, return ticket, or/and accommodation

Some of these countries include: Barbados, Cambodia, ECOWAS countries, Iran etc.

None of these countries are in Europe though. Dubai/UAE is not in the list also. Although it is easy to visit Dubai from Nigeria.

5. Persons under the age of 18 cannot get passport with more than 5 years validity.

This is in line with the international Civil Aviation Organization ICAO recommendations.
Because it is considered that minors have rapidly changing physical features due to growth.
At some point the resemblance between them and the picture in their passport will diminish


6. Your passport is considered to have expired starting from 6 months to the end of its validity date.

Some countries will not grant you visa if you have 6 months or less left on your passport. Also they wont grant you visa if you have just a few pages left on your passport.

One of the reason that might be behind this policy is that many countries allow you stay in their country for between 3 to 6 months after your visa has expired.

If they grant you a visa when your passport's validity is less than 6 months, it is possible to legally overstay your visa. And when it is time to travel back, your passport will now have exceeded its validity date.

And you cannot board an international flight with an expired passport except maybe through deportation. You see the conundrum?

Hope you enjoyed this.

Want to apply for the international passport?

You can get a free comprehensive guide on the steps to apply and get a fresh Nigeria passport.

Just send "fresh passport guide" via whatsapp to 09060978669

And the guide will be Whatsapped to you

Thanks, educative writeup