An International passport is a document issued by the government of a country to its citizens which proves their identity and nationality. In this post we will shed light on the uses of a Nigerian international passport and the complete process of obtaining one from Nigerian Immigration services.
You can now apply for an international passport online, if you are in Nigeria or outside Nigeria you can apply for an international passport from the Nigeria Immigration Service.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is a government agency that manages the migration system in Nigeria.
Here are some of the reasons why you would want to get a Nigerian Passport:
For international travels
So many people desire to leave the country for so many reasons, either they are migrating or relocating to another country or they just want to visit or go on vacation. The first step to achieving this is getting an international passport. This is the most important document that can enable you to travel before you start making any plans to visit an embassy or book hotels and flight tickets.
An alternative means of identification
There are several documents or IDs that can be used as means of identification in Nigeria Examples are the National I.D card, Drivers license, Voter’s card, Student’s identity card, NYSC identity card and so on. In a situation whereby these are not available, an international passport is also accepted as a means of identification. It is not just for those intending to travel.
Proof of Nationality
An international passport shows your citizenship. Different countries have different colours of booklet covers for their passport, though there are four majour colours used for an international passport, red, green, black and blue, there are so many variations that help identify which belongs to which country; Nigeria has a green cover, The U.S has a navy blue cover, The british passport is burgundy red and so on.
This post is mainly focused on the requirements for obtaining an E-Passport in Nigeria. International passports are obtained from Nigeria Immigration Offices all over the country.
Documents Needed For International Passport
- 2 passport photographs
- L.G.A letter of identification
- Age declaration or birth certificate
- Marriage certificate (for married women only)
- Police report in case of lost passport
You also need a guarantor who will be willing to give you:
- 2 passport photographs
- photocopy of his/her data page of international passport
- Photocopy of his/her national I.D card or drivers license.
For Children, you need
- 2 passport photograghs
- Birth certificate
- Consent letter from father or father’s international passport or drivers license or national I.D.
How To Apply For An International Passport In Nigeria.
Obtaining an E-Passport is very easy and straight forward, however, waiting for the passport to be ready is the challenging part as it might take longer than expected to get your passport.
To apply for an international passport, follow these easy steps.
- Visit the Nigeria Immigration Service portal.
- Click passport, and click the appropriate application (apply from Nigeria, apply from outside Nigeria).
- For inside Nigeria, click start new application.
- Follow the on-screen information to fill in your details and also make payment.
International Passport Price In Nigeria.
32 pages of the booklet: For age 0- 17 the price is 8,750. For age 18- 59 the price is 15,000. Age 60 and above the price is 8,750.
64 Pages of the booklet: For age 0-17 the price is 20,000. For age 18- 59 the price is 20,000. For age 60 and above the price is 20,000.
How long will it take to get an International Passport?
Under normal circumstances, an International passport should be ready for collection within a week but sometimes delays could arise. Some delays that could occur while waiting to get your passport could be caused by the following.
Unavailability of booklet covers. When booklet covers are not available, it is impossible to print new passports and this can cause a lot of delay depending on when the booklet covers become available.
Change in leadership. Sometimes, when there is a change in leadership, activities could be paused for sometime and this can affect the readiness of your passport.
Misplacement of your passport collection slip. When the collection slip given to you is misplaced, the enrollment I.D will be unknown causing further delays in getting your passport.
For E-Passport renewal all you need to take with you is the expired passport and it doesn’t take as long to get the renewed passport as it does to get a new one.
I hope this post has helped you. You can leave your questions or comments below and will get back to you.
Great content, but to get the passport from immigration is very hard and expensive these days.