Nigeria Passport Visa-Free Access

Nigeria’s Low Ranking Passport

Nigerian citizens get a poor deal when it comes to visa free access. A Nigerian passport holder can access just 54 destinations visa-free. That’s a modest 23.8% of the 227 countries and territories worldwide. But the reality of those countries is even worse.  The visa-free countries Nigerians have access to equate to just 2.1% of the world’s GDP and 3.1% of the world’s international travel popularity.

It’s one of the lowest ranking passports in Africa, with Ghana at 73, Cameroon at 61 and Cote d’Ivoire at 67. Nigeria’s visa-free list mainly consists of other African countries and does not include destinations such as Europe, USA, China, or the UK.

Second Passport Solutions

From La Vida’s experience of dealing with thousands of Nigerian nationals, we know that global business links and education are some of the driving factors behind the desire for second citizenship in addition to visa-free access. Many Nigerians wish to educate their children in the world’s top schools or universities located in Europe, the UK or the USA. Holding a second passport in one of these regions makes this goal a lot more achievable.

There is no ”one size fits all” approach when considering your second residency or citizenship options. All countries have their own visa-free travel list but it’s important to consider the quality of those countries included, taking factors such as GDP into consideration, as well as the combined value of countries with your current passport. La Vida’s unique Passport Value report does all of this and more and can be an invaluable tool in such decision making.

Here, we have analysed some of the most popular choices for Nigerian citizens and explained why.

Top 3 Passport Recommendations for Nigerian Citizens

nigeria with Grenada second passport

Pair a Grenadian and Nigerian passport and the world begins to open up. You gain access to 163 destinations worldwide, which includes the UK, EU Schengen zone, China and Russia. Now you have visa free access to 58.7% of the world’s GDP, a huge improvement on the 2.1% that a standalone Nigerian Passport offers.

There are also two additional attractions of Grenada Citizenship. Grenada holds an E-2 Visa treaty with the USA, which means Grenadian citizens can apply for a US residency visa by investing upwards of $150,000 into a US business or franchise. Ordinarily, a Nigerian passport holder would not usually have to right to apply for this option as Nigeria do not hold an E-2 visa treaty with the US. And finally, Grenada is home to St Georges University, a top medical school affiliated with the USA and the UK. Grenadian Citizens are entitled to 90% fee reduction on their first year which has proven to be a huge draw to many Nigerian citizens looking to educate their children abroad. Processing time is fast, just 4 months on average and the entire application can be completed remotely. 

nigeria with Dominica second passport

Similar to Grenada, a Dominican plus Nigerian passport gives the holder access to 162 destinations worldwide. Although the number of visa-free countries is almost the same, this does not include China so therefore the GDP is slightly lower at 42.7%. As Dominica is part of the Commonwealth (as is Grenada) passport holders can enjoy visa-free travel to the EU. Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment programme has been established since 1993 and investment options start from as little as $200,000, plus fees.

nigeria with portugal second passport

A Portuguese and Nigerian passport combination will grant access to 205 destinations in total, which represents 80.5% of the world’s GDP. Portuguese citizenship can be granted to golden visa investors after five years of residency and includes the right to live, work and study anywhere within the European Union.  It also grants travel access to Australia, Canada and the USA through their simple electronic visa authorisation systems, which take less than 20 minutes to complete online and are issued in around 24 – 72 hours. The initial Portuguese Golden visa programme starts from $500,000 + fees.

To receive your full passport value analysis and assessment of the options available please contact our specialist consultants today.

 Source