What Is The ECOWAS Passport?
The ECOWAS Passport (international passport) is the official identification document for all citizens of Nigeria. It is required for all forms of travel outside the country even inside Africa. It is a general requirement for visa-free countries as a means of identification. It allows member state citizens to stay in their country for ninety days without obtaining any other permits.
Eligibility & Member ECOWAS Countries
All Nationals of Countries that are signatories to the ECOWAS treaty which includes:
Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania (left 2002), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Burkina Faso
Validity
- It is valid for travel within the ECOWAS Sub-region/Visa-free countries
Purpose of Travel Certificate
Passport:
It is a recognized travel document valid for travels within the fifteen(15) Countries of ECOWAS.
Form of Identity:
- This proves that the holder is a community citizen.
- It can be held concurrently with the National Passport.
Requirements for Issuance of ECOWAS Travel Certificate
- Duly completed application form
- Three(3) recent coloured (4×4 cm) passport photographs
- Evidence of age (birth certificate or statutory declaration of age)
- Letter of Introduction from Employer (for salaried workers only)
- Letter of confirmation of Nigerian Citizenship from the applicant’s Local Government Chairman.
- Students and Trainee applicants shall obtain letters of introduction from the heads of their institutions accepting Immigration Responsibility (IR)
- Any other document that might be required by any locality as evidence of Nigerian Citizenship.
Validity
A Travel Certificate shall be valid for two (2) years and shall be renewable for a further period of two (2) years.
Replacement and Amendments of ECOWAS Passport
A travel Certificate may be replaced on the following conditions:
- If the pages are exhausted while the certificate is still valid.
- If the certificate has lasted for the ten-year total validity period.
- If it is mutilated in any form or requires amendment.
- If it is confirmed lost or stolen.
Replacement
- Application for replacement shall be made in the same or any other prescribed form, and supported by attaching the certificate to be replaced. Lost or stolen certificates may only be replaced after a reasonable time has elapsed (i.e. about two to six months) and must be supported with.
- Proof of citizenship
- Police report
Passport Fee
The official fee is N2,600
Nigerian Immigration Service Headquarters,
Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Road ,
Sauka Abuja.
P.M.B. 38
Garki Abuja.
+234-708-0607-900
+234-814-7199-908
Hours of Operation: 07:00 – 20:00hours (GMT+1)
Email: nis.servicom@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng
Where To Apply
Unofficial and Faster Way to Get the ECOWAS Passport
Go to any of the Nigerian passport offices and an agent can get you an ECOWAS passport sorted within 1hr for N10,000 – N15,000 (tip included)
Make sure you have 2 passport photographs and a valid ID card when you get to the passport office.
The person who assisted me with my ECOWAS passport – Amos 08029668773, was at the Ikoyi office. If you have difficulties reaching out to him, visit a local passport office and they should be able to get you a passport in less than 24 hours.
29 Comments
Please,I wanna ask I am a foreigner living in in Nigeria for 6 years please I wanna know can I get ecowas passport, thanks
Through a proper legal process, if you are not from an ECOWAS country, then no.
Please I need guidance…am a Nigerian and I need an ecowas passport please where can I get it.. where can I go to run the process and all of that
Thanks
Pls I wish to settle in cape Verde … What requirements do I need pls
Is ecowas passport different from Nigeria international passport?
Yes it is
I don’t know reason why senegal rejected ecowas passport
What do you mean? I recently visited using my ECOWAS passport.
How much for ECOWAS passport and Nigeria international passport and what is the difference between two of them?
ECOWAS is a passport that lets you travel across the ECOWAS countries using the document as the official passport, while the international passport works for every country, including the ECOWAS countries
Can I travel to Tanzania with Ecowas passport
Sadly, no
Pls can I travel to south Africa with an ECOWAS passport?
Hello Clinton, no you can not. ECOWAS passport works only for select countries under the ECOWAS agreement. See here for the countries that you may travel to using the ECOWAS passport. https://www.zeegoes.com/ecowas-passport-as-a-nigerian-passport-holder/#Eligibility_Member_Countries
Please I am to travel to ghana for a holiday to spend 2 weeks and I will be travel by road do I need Ecowas passport
If you already have a valid Nigerian passport and yellow card, you can travel to Ghana with zero issues. If not, it’s easier to get the ECOWAS passport than the Nigerian passport.
Please help confirm if the man still works at the NIS Ikoyi office. Also, how can I identify anyone that can help me do it at the Ikoyi office?
Did you attempt to contact him? Try WhatsApp if having difficulties calling him.
Please is it compulsory for one to be physically present when applying for the ECOWAS passport?
Not really. When I did mine, I sent my information remotely and picked it up from the agent later in the day.
Thanks for this very useful information. I was able to reach Mr Amos and he will be processing it for me.
Glad to read this! Happy travels!
I have ecowas passport issued by Nigeria. Can i travel with the ecowas passport from UK to Nigeria?
Hello Teju, I just updated the article with an image of what the ECOWAS passport looks like, if what you have looks like the ECOWAS blue document, then it can not be used from UK to Lagos in place of an international passport because UK is not an ECOWAS country. If you have the green passport, which also has ECOWAS written on it, then that works. If you do have a Nigerian international passport, you can still travel to Nigeria as long as you have documents showing that you are Nigerian and evidence that you are waiting to receive a new passport. Also call the airline you will be traveling with to find out if they will allow you to travel using the ECOWAS passport to Nigeria (they may need supporting documents beyond that), due to the passport delay issues nowadays, you never know and they may allow you to travel with it. Good luck!
Also make sure you have a valid UK visa
Good day pls i want to ask, if i want to travel to south African by road, do i still need any passport?
Hello! Yes your passport will be needed, along with visa to enter the country via South Africa’s road border control. There are also a number of countries between Nigeria and South Africa (assuming you will be traveling from Nigeria), you will need travel documents in order to travel through each country’s border.
Hi, I would love to fly from Lagos to Accra with the Blue Ecowas passport after I get one but I read it on a site that AirPeace doesn’t accept the Blue Ecowas passport and you can only go by road with it. How true is this ? And have you ever flown from Lagos to another Ecowas country ?
Hello Deborah, that’s surprising. I traveled using my ECOWAS passport from Lagos to Senegal and back using the passport with Air Peace in 2022. I’ll advice you call them directly to confirm this information, there may have been some other reasons the person with the passport had difficulties with his/hers. I know others who primarily use their ECOWAS passport for travel within the accepted regions and they don’t have that issue.