8 Travel Hacks For Nigerian Passport Holders

The only reason I haven’t travelled the world by now is because I have a Nigerian passport. Well also because I don’t have access to an infinite amount of money, but mainly because I have a Nigerian passport lol. There’s so much about the process that puts me off, from the visa process, long queues at immigration to the “random” interrogations by customs. It’s frustrating the way we’re treated but I’ve promised myself I would never allow that frustration to kill my passion for traveling. Luckily, I’ve been able to visit some incredible places in my life and I’ve picked up some tips along the way that I thought might be helpful for all my fellow green passport holders:

Visa application forms are long. They are also (luckily) very repetitive so the one thing you can do to make the visa application filling process as pain free as possible is to save your past applications either digitally or physically so the next time you have to fill an application you have something you can refer to and copy from.

In my experience visa agents can be careless and make mistakes with your application because they have so many applications they’re working on. I also don’t see their value because you’ll need to give them your information to fill in your application form, compile your own documents and most embassies no longer accept applications submitted by proxy because they’ll need your biometric data, not to mention they’ll cost you.

We are blessed with so many different public holidays in Nigeria that other countries don’t recognise meaning you’ll be able to plan your trips around the ones that fall during off-peak periods, save money and maximise your annual leave too. You can research Nigerian public holidays years in advance, just type in ‘Nigerian public holidays’ and the year in Google.

Nigerians are notorious for bringing in contraband food items so more often than not, we will be stopped by customs. On my last trip to the United States I was specifically asked if I had egusi or crayfish in my suitcase. I didn’t, but my point is customs are woke so do yourself a favour and find out what is or isn’t allowed and follow the rules. Unless of course you think egusi and crayfish is worth the risk of being interrogated for hours, being fined and eventually having your food thrown out anyway.

This tip applies to people of all nationalities but because visa costs can take up a significant amount of my travel budget I’m even more keen to save costs on airfare. I’ve always found it cheaper to purchase tickets directly from the airlines websites rather than using a travel agent so I’ve signed up to all my favourite airlines newsletters and set up price alerts on flight search engines (like Kayak) so I receive alerts on sales and get the best prices.

Over the years I’ve been pulled over quite a few times for further questioning by immigration. It’s frustrating and can be scary even but I’ve learned its actually very common. I’ve accepted that the extra scrutiny comes with the stereotype we have as Nigerians and I’ve learned it’s best to be prepared and remain calm. Make sure you have a copy of your return flight with you, your accommodation address and be honest about the reason for your visit, how much money you’re traveling with and your itinerary for your trip. If all your paperwork is in order, everything should be fine and you’ll eventually be cleared for entry. If however you’ve feel like you’re being singled out or not being treated respectfully, you have the right to request to speak to a manager.

Contrary to popular belief there are quite a few countries that Nigerian passport holders can visit visa-free, with valid visas from other countries (usually USA, UK, Canada or Schenghen), or obtain visa on arrival. For instance I did not need a visa for my trip to Gambia and I was able to enter Costa Rica with my valid US visa. Immigration laws are changing constantly and too often immigration websites are not updated in real time so make sure you triple check with the appropriate embassy and I’d even go as far as  requesting for an email or letter confirming that you don’t need a visa or can get one on arrival to present at immigration if you can get one.

On my last trip to the UK I travelled with a British passport holder and we went through the (much longer) foreign passport holders immigration queue for entry clearance. When we finally made it to the desk, the immigration officer told me that we both could have been cleared together at the UK National queue since I was traveling with a British passport holder and this literally would’ve saved us over an hour on the queue. I don’t know if this applies to all countries, but it’s worth a try!

Do you have any travel hacks? Let me know in the comments!