5 Types of Nigerian International Passports and How to Differentiate Them by Colour

Cursory: Apart from the international passport, many Nigerians are not aware that other types of passports exist for citizens. The passport type a government official uses for trips abroad 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, explains the five types of Nigerian passports, how to differentiate them by their colours, and the classes of persons that carry them.

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 an 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 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 for 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 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.”

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