₦airaland Forum

Has anyone successfully traveled from Lagos or Abuja to Barbados, on a Nigerian passport, using the Turkey(Istanbul)/Panama route and not had to get a transit visa? I have checked with Titamic and no transit visas are required for that route, using Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines. Would love to hear from anyone regarding this, as my friend is attempting to make this journey soon.

Transit free routes (transfer without a visa) from Lagos/Abuja to Barbados are tricky. It's easy to list Istanbul, Havana, Panama City, Luanda and Brazil and say they are transit visa free. One should consider which airline is flying the particular leg of the journey, is it in a partnership with other airlines (star allegiant), what terminal the airline is entering in a particular airport, what about checked luggage, and how long a delay you have in connecting between flights.

GRU, Brazil, Sao Paulo is not entirely transit free. If you arrive in one terminal and have to depart from a different terminal, you are NOT free to transit WITHOUT A transit VISA. You will have to pass thru Immigration Control. I don't know for a fact in practice because I never had to test the theory BUT I did contact GRU Airport and ask them directly, along with TAAG Airlines and the Brazilian Consulate. If you arrive in Terminal 2 by Ethiopian or Royal Air Maroc, then you need to stay in Terminal 2 and depart with a partner airline, if you are headed to Barbados. All of the large, commercial airlines like Emirates, Turkish Air, United,etc arrive in Terminal 3 of GRU Airport and none of these airlines fly to Barbados from Terminal 3.

Obviously obtaining a transit visa is urged, as you don't want to be the test subject, who gets turned away by Immigrations and told to return home.

Transit Free Routes (transfer without a visa) from Lagos/Abuja to Bahamas are tricky. It's easy to list Istanbul, Havana, Panama City, Luanda and Brazil and say they are transit visa free. One should consider which airline is flying the particular leg of the journey, is it in a partnership with other airlines (star allegiant), what terminal the airline is entering in a particular airport, what about checked luggage, and how long a delay you have in connecting between flights.

GRU, Brazil, Sao Paulo is not entirely transit free. If you arrive in one terminal and have to depart from a different terminal, you are NOT free to transit WITHOUT A TRANSIT VISA. You will have to pass thru Immigration Control. I don't know for a fact in practice because I never had to test the theory BUT I did contact GRU Airport and ask them directly, along with TAAG Airlines and the Brazilian Consulate. If you arrive in Terminal 2 by Ethiopian or Royal Air Maroc, then you need to stay in Terminal 2 and depart with Copa, if you are headed to the Bahamas. All of the large, commercial airlines like Emirates, Turkish Air, United,etc arrive in Terminal 3 of GRU Airport and none of these airlines fly to Bahamas from Terminal 3.