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As a Nigerian citizen that is looking to travel outside the shores of the country, you’ll have to apply for an international passport. If you are a Nigerian citizen who is outside the country, you can also apply for your Nigerian passport renewal online and have your capturing and biometrics data at the embassy or consulate.
A Nigerian international passport is an important document issued to Nigerian citizens with the purpose of traveling outside the country. As long as you are able to obtain a visa, you can travel anywhere in the world internationally with your Nigerian international passport. The Nigerian international passport can be applied for both online and offline. Applying online is quite easy and straightforward, unlike the offline method because the process takes time. Some people like to engage the services of an agent but I will not advise you to do that because sometimes your documents end up getting misplaced or you might get scammed or end up with a fake passport. If you are a Nigerian citizen who is outside the country, you can also apply for your Nigerian passport renewal online and have your capturing and biometrics data at the embassy or consulate.
A lot of people mistake the Ecowas passport with the Nigerian international passport. Note that the ECOWAS passport only permits you to travel to the 15 West African countries while the international passport enables you to travel out of West Africa.
Nigerians living abroad can apply for their Nigerian passport renewal online and then submit their documents and have their photographs taken and biometric data captured at their nearest consulate or embassy.
How to Apply Online
The good thing is you can start the process online but you cannot go through the entire process without going into the office because you’ll be required to visit the immigration office closest to you for capturing. I think it is very important that you start this process online because it eliminates the problem of people trying to help you expedite it and trying to lobby and make you pay a little more not to appreciate them.
Below are the steps required for you to apply for a successful Nigerian international passport:
- Visit the Nigerian Immigration Services portal
- Select passport type (you can either do the standard e-passport which has a green cover or the official e-passport with the blue cover. Nigerian ordinary citizens can only apply for the standard e-passport because the official e-passport is reserved for diplomats and government officials. There are 32 pages and 64 pages of the Nigerian international passports, it depends on how much of a traveler you are. So, if you travel very often, you might decide to opt for the 64 pages to save yourself from the stress of having to apply for new passports constantly, and mind you the costs for each differ).
- Select processing country.
- Complete application form(This includes first name, date of birth, gender, occupation, National Identification Number[NIN], place of birth, marital status, maiden name, and email). After this is done, you will be required to pick a date for the capturing at the immigration office.
- Upload scanned copies of required documents.
- Select preferred payment method (click on pay in naira or pay in dollars)
- Click “Submit” once payment is done.
- You will be issued an Application ID and Reference number(here, you have to proceed to the NIS portal for confirmation of payment).
- Print out Guarantor’s form and have it certified
Submit the completed application form with additional required documents in person at your selected passport office.
A new passport application takes around 48 hours to process after your biometric data has been captured. In some cases, it has been known to take up to a month to process, so make sure you apply well in advance.
Follow the steps given in this article and you can be sure to have your Nigerian international passport done sooner than you imagine so if you need to travel outside of Nigeria, be sure to save yourself time and the hassle by applying and submitting your application documents for your international passport well in advance of your departure date. All you’ve to do is get your bags ready after you have applied for your visa of course.
Do feel free to leave your comments and questions if you’ve any below about your experience in acquiring your Nigerian international passport.
