In one of our recent articles, we discussed the process of booking a local flight to anywhere in Nigeria and promised to release a guide on how to book an international flight in Nigeria. In this article, we will be fulfilling that promise as we will expose you to the nitty-gritty of booking an international flight in Nigeria to anywhere around the globe.
In the article, we made it clear that the most important document that differentiates the local flight and international flight is the International Passport and Visa. Although these two documents seem to be very popular among Nigerians as virtually everybody mentions them during interactions with others. Yet, a good number of us do not know what an International Passport and Visa are; not to talk of how to get one.
What is an International Passport and Visa?
International Passport and Visa are both alike but for some slight differences between the two documents. While an International Passport is a legal identification document issued by the government of your own country to permit you to travel to other international destinations and to gain entrance on your return; a Visa is issued by the government of the country you are visiting, to permit you entry into their country.
An International Passport is usually enough to get you out of the country but in some instances such as for long-term visitations e-g work, study, tourism and the likes; you might require a Visa. However, to obtain a Visa; you must have gotten an International Passport first because this contains all the necessary information about you such as your name, nationality, date of birth, recent photograph, and some vacant pages which are stamped when you arrive or depart some particular nations.
READ: How To Book A Local Flight In Nigeria 2021
Now that we have known what an International Passport and Visa are; the next thing is to get information on how to obtain the two documents.
How to get an International Passport and Visa?
Gone are the days when the process of obtaining an International Passport and Visa are cumbersome; nowadays, you can any of these documents within a twinkle of an eye. Nevertheless, before you apply for an International Passport; you must be aware of the types of International Passport we have to help you decide the one that best suits your travel needs.
Types of International Passport
- Regular/Ordinary Passports: This is the commonest type of International Passport and is mostly issued to tourists and average International travellers. On average, the validation of this passport is usually 10 years.
- E-passports: All thanks to technology, these types of electronic International passports are modifications of regular or ordinary passports. They look exactly like ordinary passports but have some biometric features in form of electronic microchips on their covers. When scanned, these microchips display all the needed information about the holder. This passport is inarguably the best and most secured type of International passport.
- Joint Passports: As the name implies, these passports are issued to two or more travellers moving to the same destination. This will help you reduce the cost of obtaining an individual passport and save time.
- Official passport: These are given to government workers and other official representatives such as diplomats. These passports give them unrestricted access to enter any country as they can be easily identified to be on an official assignment by members of the destination country except if the two countries are not on good terms.
- Temporary Passports: These are issued in periods of emergency such as when you lost your International passport or if it is stolen and you need to get to your destination country as soon as possible. These passports will be issued to oversee your travelling for the main time till you are privileged to apply for a new passport.
So, those are the various types of International Passports that we have and I am pretty sure you have decided the one that best suits you. Except you are a government agent, the best passport for you is definitely the E-passport.
The next thing on our agenda is to find out how to obtain your International passport. To obtain an International Passport in Nigeria, follow the steps below:
- Visit the portal of the Nigerian Immigration Services
- Choose the passport type of your choice (currently, the only available option is the standard e-passport)
- Choose the processing country of your choice (the country you will like to go for an interview during the processing of your interview)
- Fill the application form as required (make sure all information entered are as on your legal documents) and contact the Nigerian Embassy (if you are in a foreign country) or Immigration Office (for Nigerians) before filling the application form.
- Upload scanned images of the documents required: These documents might include some of the following:
For Adults (18 years and above)
- An image of the well-filled application form above
- An image of your national ID/ letter of identification from your Local Government or state of origin
- An image of your Registration/ Naturalization Certificate
- Two recent passport-sized photographs
- An image of Birth Certificate/ Age Declaration
- A well-filled image of a Guarantor’s form
- E-passport of Guarantor’s with one passport-sized photograph
- Proof of payment on the portal
- Marriage certificate (if married)
For children (Below 18 years)
- An image of the well-filled application form
- One passport-sized photograph signed on the plain size by the parent
- Proof of the citizenship of the parent (parent must be a citizen of Nigeria)
- Child’s Birth Certificate
- Consent Agreement Letter from parent
- Proof of Court Order if the parents are unavailable
- Proof of payment on the portal
- Choose a convenient payment method (you can make use of any MasterCard or Visa card)
- Click on “Submit” after the success of the payment then you will be given an Application ID and Reference number
- Proceed to print out your Guarantor’s form and get it certified before making a physical submission
- Submit your well-filled application form and other required documents by yourself at the selected processing office in your country
To move to some countries such as Canada and US, you will be required to present a Visa which can be gotten from the embassy of such country or online. The processing of a Visa is much easier as your International passport number is required, therefore, eliminating the need of filling a lot of forms.
How To Book an International Flight in Nigeria
Finally, we have gotten to the main theme of this article but there is really nothing much to say as the most significant factor which marks the difference between booking a domestic flight and an International flight has been well-analyzed above. Yet, there is a need for us to still say something about the process for the sake of those who have not read our post on booking a domestic flight in the country.
You should also know the International Passport and Visa are not needed when booking your flight but rather during check-ins. Hence, if any air carrier agency is requiring this during booking of a flight; you may need to go over the agency’s authenticity one more time.
- Visit the website of your desired air carrier (it is always better to make use of the airline company you desire to fly with to avoid being scammed)
- State your present location and choose your destination
- Enter your take-off date and probably return date (if you are purchasing a return flight ticket)
- State the class you want to fly with (this could be Suites, First class, Business, Premium Economy, or Economy)
- Provide detailed information on extra accompaniments such as baggage and insurance
- Enter a valid e-mail address
- Make payment through your cards, bank transfer, POS, and so on depending on the ones available on the website of your air carrier.
You can now wait for your e-ticket to be delivered to your mail before packing your bags.
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Importantly, you must know that it is mandatory that children under the age of 16 must provide their proof of birth certificate and also a consent letter from their parents when booking a flight.
Conclusion
You can vividly see that it is very easy to book an International flight in Nigeria as far as you have obtained a valid International Passport or Visa from the appropriate agency in your country. With this article, you should never find it difficult to move from Nigeria to another country and vice versa.
Feel free to talk to us in the comment box and let’s see how we can help or benefit from you.