5 Types of Nigerian Passports and How to Differentiate Them by Their Colours

• Apart from international passports, many Nigerians seem not to be aware that other types of passports exist for citizens
• The passport type a government official uses for abroad trips is quite different from that of an ordinary citizen
• In the same vein, the passport of a diplomat or someone that works with vessels is not the same as that of a pilgrim

Do you know that there are various kinds of passports in Nigeria but not everyone can use all of them?

In this article, calabargistblog.com.ng explains the five types of Nigerian passports, how to differentiate them by their colours and the classes of persons that carry them.

For the sake of a layman, it is important to note that a passport is an official document issued by a government, certifying the holder’s identity and citizenship and entitling them to travel under its protection to and from foreign countries.

The five types of Nigerian passports, in no particular order, are ordinary, diplomatic, seaman, official and pilgrim.

1. Ordinary passport

An ordinary passport is the most popular type of passport because it is given to the general public. It is popularly referred to as international passport.

The class of the citizenry that uses this passport are people who are not in top government positions, not in the military, parastatals or government security agencies.

Its cover is coloured green. It is noteworthy that no Nigerian is permitted to hold multiple ordinary passports at a time. It also has a maximum validity of 10 years and five years as its minimum.

On the NIS official website, the ordinary passport is referred to as a standard passport.

2. Seaman’s passport

The seaman’s passport is the type of passport that is given to people who work on the sea or ocean. It is basically for sailors and it has a maroon cover.

3. Pilgrim passport

Pilgrim passport is the type of passport given to people embarking on pilgrimages to holy lands such as Jerusalem and Mecca.

Travellers Niche reports that it is usually valid for six months and does not have a stable cover colour due to security concerns.

4. Official passport

Official passport is the type of passport given to government officials such as governors, permanent secretaries, secretary-general of the federation, CBN governor, army and other military officials as well as officials of other government parastatals.

Its cover is coloured blue.

5. Fresh passport

The NIS gave a comprehensive definition of the fresh passport on its official website. The definition, as well as how to apply for it, reads:

“If applying for a new passport and you have never previously owned one before then you need to fill the form for a Fresh Passport Move the mouse pointer over Passports on the menu bar, and then click on Fresh Passport on the menu bar.

“Choose the appropriate passport type you are applying for and click on Start Application button. For all the passport types except pilgrims’ passport, you can have a passport renewal which is done when your current passport has expired.”

Nigerian passports climb up 3 places in the global ranking

Meanwhile, calabargistblog.com.ng previously reported that the Nigerian passport had gone up three places in the global passports ranking.

The index, published by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, ranks 199 passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The Nigerian passport, according to the index, only guarantees visa-free access to 46 countries of the world an improvement from 45 as at March 2022.

Globally, Japan’s passport is ranked as the most powerful in the world as it allows a holder to enter 193 countries around the world.

In Africa, Seychelles’ passport is ranked number one and 28th in the world. Its passport holders have access to 153 countries without visa payment.

Source: calabargistblog.com.ng