The new Nigerian International Passport valid for 10 years

Did you know there is a new International Passport in town? If you didn’t, you’re in luck. Find all the details on the  10 years validity international passport for Nigerians, why it was introduced how and where to get one in this article.

You should be aware that there are two types of Nigerian passport; The 64 pages passport which is for more frequent travelers and the 32 pages passport for less frequent travelers. This new passport, however, solves a more peculiar problem.

 

WHY THE NEW NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT?

The new international passport was introduced after various complaints by Nigerians home and in diaspora about the five years duration of the international passport as being short. This often resulted in long queues and long waiting period for passport renewal. To reduce these incidences,  the Nigerian Immigration service submitted a memo to President Buhari as far back as 2016 to increase the passport validity period.

On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, the 10 years validity international passport for Nigerians was approved and launched. The issuance of this passport will commence on March 4, 2019, at the Federal capital territory at the rate of N70,000.

Some of the questions you may have are answered below;

 

WHERE AND WHEN CAN I GET THE NEW INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT IN NIGERIA?

The table below shows phase one dates and cities when the 10 years validity international passport for Nigerians will be obtainable.

DATES	PLACE
March 4, 2019	Abuja
March 25, 2019	Ikoyi, Lagos
April 1, 2019	Kano
April 8, 2019	Alausa-Ikeja Lagos
April 15, 2019	London, UK

Phase two will commence immediately after London from April 22nd, 2019 to include multiple rollouts in New York, Washington and Atlanta. While other locations, local and abroad will follow in sequence from April 29th.

IS THERE A NEED TO DISPOSE OF MY OLD NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT?

The NIS spokesman assured that existing passport booklet will run concurrently with the newly enhanced passport booklet until the former expires hence there is no need to dispose of the former.

 

ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT

Asides for the longer validity of the new passport, some features have also been upgraded to include:

• Self-tracking of application
• Express centers for an urgent application
• Weather friendliness
• Compliance with the latest ICAO standard
• Polycarbonate technology that reduces the incidence of damage as well saves Nigerians in the Diaspora time of frequent visits to Nigerian Embassies.

WHAT ARE THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO OBTAIN A NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT?

You have to be born of Nigerian origin and have the following documents to get a passport.

1. Passport application form
2. Your payment slip
3. State of origin certificate
4. Birth certificate
5. Driver’s license
6. Two recent passports sized photograph

Then visit the nearest Nigerian Immigration office in your city. If you found this article useful, kindly leave us a comment below.

If you plan to travel soon, check out our previous post HERE to find out if your next destination requires a yellow card and how to obtain one.