How to Get International Passport in Nigeria – w/ Cost and Personal Experience

You’re thinking of applying for e-Passport or the international passport in Nigeria and you don’t know the easiest way to get through it, you have been asking, surfing the internet for the best answer until you land here, right?

That’s quite great! If you’ve checked one of the blog posts on the google first page, you’ll realized that the procedure and requirements written there seems to be too much and impossible for you to get.

For instance, one of the requirements says you need to get a letter from your state governor or a high official person in your town…. Well, I didn’t get any letter from anybody before I applied and got my international passport in Nigeria.

So here, I’m going to tell you the exact step-by-step guide I used to get the Nigeria’s International Passport (e-Passport), the cost and the requirements.

Before proceeding, let me say something about the Nigerian International Passport, e-Passport;

About the International Passport in Nigeria

The international passport in Nigeria is an official document issued by the federal government of Nigeria through one of her agencies, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), headed by the minister of Interior.

The Nigeria’s International Passport is one of the official documents that proves you’re a Nigerian. Although we have the National Identification Number (NIN) on our National ID card, the Voters Identification Number (VIN) on our voters’ card etc., but this e-passport or the International Passport in Nigeria stands out.

Apart from the fact that this document can prove your national identity (anywhere in the world), you can also use this passport to travel to some African countries, if you’re thinking of going outside Africa’s continent, you’ll need to have your Nigeria’s International Passport, VISA and buy ticket for you to be able to travel the world!

But how can you apply for this International Passport in Nigeria and get the paper processed very fast? The first anti-dote is to have all the requirements in place, so what are the requirements?

Requirements to Get the International Passport in Nigeria

I’m going to tell the official requirements according to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and then, tell you what I personally took to their office here in Osun State, Nigeria.

Here are they – What I prepared;

• My National ID card (the slip though)
• Birth certificate
• Court affidavit (because I changed my names, so the name on the National ID card is different from the name on the birth certificate, but I have the court affidavit to valid all my documents)
• Passport photograph – Note that the size required to be used in international passport is quite different from the normal one you can use in bank or anywhere. So, I took another passport photograph right opposite the NIS office.
• Utility Bill – just in case they want to validate my address, but it was useless then.
• I even went along with my registered business name’ certificate, also it was useless.

So, those are what I prepared that made me to be enrolled and captured for the Nigerian international passport that day.

Let talk about the fee, I know you would have been asking yourself that how much does it cost to get the international passport in Nigeria?

Okay, I’m also going to tell you the official price and how much I paid;

The Cost of Getting the International Passport in Nigeria

The official cost of getting the international passport in Nigeria is now N70,000 for 64-pages which will last for 10 years and N35,000 for same 64-pages which will last for 5 years. For the 32-pages, it cost N25,000 which will last for 5 years.

To understand it better, here are the cost of international passport in Nigeria;

• N70,000 for 64-pages standard passport with 10 years validity
• N35,000 for 64-pages standard passport with 5 years validity
• N25,000 for 32-pages standard passport with 5 years validity.

But personally, I applied for the 32-papers (5 years validity) and I paid N30,000. Other money spent like the one I used to take passport photograph, the transport fare and other tips are not included.

The agent collected N30,000 from me before he enrolled me for the international passport and after paying the agent, I didn’t give a dime to anybody! I don’t know if the agent paid the Nigeria Immigration Service or not, all I know is that I wasn’t questioned by the officers in charge of capturing data.

So, after getting my requirements and money in place, I boarded a cab to the Nigeria Immigration Office, Osun State branch in Osogbo – the state capital.

I didn’t know where the office is situated, so I searched on Google Map and I got an idea of the route, before I miss my way. My point here is that, you should be sure of where you’re going before leaving your house.

You can search on google like; ‘Nigeria Immigration Office + in + Your State’. For example, ‘Nigeria Immigration Office in Abia State’. From that, you can simply get the idea of where you’re going because google map will tell you the streets along the road and the landmarks.

If you’re in Osun State and you’re thinking of getting your international passport in Osogbo, here is how I got to the office;

I boarded a cab to Osogbo garage and from there to the NIS office along Gbongan road. The Nigeria Immigration office in Osogbo, Osun State is very close to SUBEB office, around the Nursing house, the Osun State’s Surveyors’ office and other important places are around. But you can use the SUBEB office and Osun state Nursing house as your landmark to describe where you’re going to.

Here is how to get your international passport when applying online;

How to Apply Online for an International Passport in Nigeria:

• Visit the NigerianImmigration Services portal or click this link https://portal.immigration.gov.ng/passport/epassport
• Select the passport For now, the default type which is “Standard” is what you’re going to choose.
• Select processing country.
• Fill and Complete application form.
• Upload scanned copies of required documents.
• Select preferred payment method which can through using your ATM card.
• After successful payment, an application ID and a reference number will be given to you
• Proceed to print out Guarantor’s form and have it certified
• Submit the completed application form with other needed document in person at National Immigration or passport office around you
• After submitting the forms yourself at the office, you’ll be enrolled for biometrics (otherwise known as “capturing”)
• After completing your biometrics, you’ll be told to come back at a given day for your international passport.

So, that’s how to apply online for international passport in Nigeria. But let me tell you how I did my own…

So, how did I get my international passport in Nigeria?

Let me explain how I did it and then, I will explain other method to get your international passport in Nigeria (according to the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS).

How to Get Your International Passport in Nigeria using Offline Method (exactly what I did)

I didn’t use the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) portal but I went to their office myself (the offline method).

NOTE: I will also advice you do this, you can apply online as some folks said applying online will lets you get your international passport faster. But make sure you visit their office.

So, here is how to apply for international passport in Nigeria using offline method;

·       Go the NIS Office in your state

After gotten to the office, I didn’t enter immediately as I noticed a lot of people outside and some kiosks with computers in them.

SO, I approached one of the men in the kiosk who happened to be a photographer and one of the agents working ‘outside’ the office. I asked him which office should I go to register for the Nigeria’s international passport.

Immediately, he asked me to wait for a while…

I waited for few minutes and he came back to me that, ‘they’ can enroll me for capturing in that same kiosk and they’ll direct me to the right person who will get me registered.

At this junction, I felt like leaving the place immediately because I don’t want to be scammed. But to my surprise, some NIS officers came to the same kiosk to request for registration form from that man (because those officers also have gotten their own client ‘like me’ who need to get their own international passport).

·       I used an Agent

Then, I believed that these people are legit before of what I saw and perceived that day.

NOTE: you need to be very careful before you trust any random person to be an agent, even if you see anybody wearing the Nigeria Immigration uniform and he/she tell you to bring money for faster enrolment and capturing, don’t trust that person because we’re in Nigeria, anything can happen.

But if you’re lucky to see a smart and trusted agent or NIS officer, kindly go for them.

Back to how I got my international passport.

·       Pay the fee

So, the man told me the cost of getting my international passport during that period is N30,000 – although, I prepared N35,000 but I tried negotiating with the agent to reduced it to N25,000 or something below that N30k but he said that’s the normal price (30k) even if I talked to those officer to help me.

Without wasting time, I agreed. And I asked him how are we going to start?

·       Submit the Documents with you

He told me to bring my National ID card and birth certificate, I gave them to him with my affidavit.

But remember I said the names on my National ID card and Birth certificate is quite different but the court affidavit validates all data to be correct.

The man looked at it and returned the Birth certificate and the affidavit back to me, he said that the difference in names might create confusion and disturbed my capturing to be successful.

I asked, what about the other requirements asked, such as the letters and other stuffs demanded by the NIS before getting an international passport in Nigeria? He said I shouldn’t worry about that. But if I have them, I can give them to him and he’ll add them.

I said ‘NO’ because I didn’t even have those stuffs and he immediately proceed the registration form, generated some slips and I signed on them.

He later told one of his staff to take me inside the Nigeria Immigration office and meet a certain officer, that officer was asked to submit my photocopied documents and generated slips to the right office, which he did. And I was asked to wait till it’s my turn for capturing.

·       BIOMETRICS: Your Data Will Be Captured by the Nigeria Immigration Service

I got to the NIS office by 10:20am on Monday but before It’s my turn to be captured, it’s already after 4:00pm – meaning that I waited for good 6 hours!

NOTE: make sure you’re fully prepared, because a lot of people are trying to get their Nigeria International Passport every day. So, you must determine to sacrifice that say to get your own passport.

You know that ‘this country don tire peson sef’ but not everybody is travelling out of the country but some people are trying to get an official document that they use to verify what they’ve applied for, such as PayPal, Payoneer and so on.

So, that’s how I was able to registered and got my international passport in Nigeria without taking those bunch of requirements to them.

·       Finally, Get your International Passport

But you may want to know when I finally got the international passport right? Here is what you need to know;

How Long Does It Take to Get the International Passport in Nigeria?

Well, according to the Nigeria Immigration service, NIS, it should take nothing more than 2-weeks (or 14 days) to get your international passport in Nigeria.

That’s what they also told me.

They even said If I’m lucky to meet and tip a high-ranking officer, I can get it within a week because some people do it get within 48 hours.

You know the country we are living in, Nigeria na.

But to be sincere with you, I got my international passport after 3 months!

So, don’t fall for the scam that you’ll get it within 2 weeks, if care is not taken, you can get it after 6 months.

But well, let agreed that you can get your international passport in Nigeria within 2 weeks provided you’re lucky.

So, that’s it on getting international passport in Nigeria – and other information

Note that I shared my personal experience here, to show you exactly how I got mine. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you the same way it worked for me, that’s why I also talk about the how the Nigeria Immigration Service said you can get international passport in Nigeria.

Don’t forget that your National ID card (I mean the slip given to you by the NIMC) is very important as well, don’t forget to take it along.

Do you have any question about this? Kindly ask below and I’ll see ‘if’ I can answer them or do more research on it.

If you’re a business owner, have you register your business with the CAC? If ‘no’, I can help you to get your business name registered and get you the original certificate and documents. Click here to contact me.

That’s it, but don’t forget that if this blog post helped you, it can also help a lot of people within your circle. So, kindly share with your friends by clicking on the floating social media icons.

And you can also join my mailing list to get important updates like this and other making money online opportunities and job vacancies.

Thanks for visiting and I wish to see you soon!