Nigerian Passports: A tried and true solution for KYC in Nigeria
Did you know that Nigeria officially has six different types of passports? Keep reading to learn more about which passport is right for onboarding your customers in Nigeria.
These are the passports available in Nigeria:
- Diplomatic ePassport
- Diplomatic Passport
- ePassport
- Official ePassport
- Official Passport
- Passport (no chip)
You’d be forgiven for thinking that we were splitting hairs, and to an extent we are. Still, it makes one wonder–what is the difference between an official passport, an ePassport and a passport? Aren’t they the same?
To an extent, they are — as their names indicate, all fall under the category of “passport,” which is defined as a formal document issued by the government of a country so its citizens can enter and exit its territory, and request protection abroad.
However, there are nuances between passport types.
Diplomatic passports are issued to diplomats and consular workers, usually stationed abroad, and confer them certain privileges. It offers diplomatic immunity, which protects the passport-holder from prosecution abroad, and fast tracked immigration at the airport.
Note: Diplomatic immunity doesn’t mean diplomatic passport holders have free reign to break laws in their receiving country, but that only the sending state has the power to act in response.
In Nigeria, the Official Passport (in light blue) is for ambassadors and high-ranking officials, and the Diplomatic Passport (in red) is for government officials who reside in Nigeria and take occasional trips for government-related matters abroad.
ePassports denote a passport with an electronic chip. The chip contains the passport data that can also be read on the summary page inside the passport. Fields include the passport holder’s first and last name, their date of birth, and the passport’s issuing country and expiry date, among others. The ePassport is the standard passport for Nigerian citizens and is the only one on offer for new passport applications.
Standard passports without a chip are rarer and can’t be renewed once expired, such that the ePassport is the most common passport for Nigerian citizens.
If you want to accept passports when onboarding your users, running KYC and validating their identity, the standard Nigerian ePassport is what you need to offer. All other passports, including the simple “Passport” without a chip, and the Diplomatic and Official (e)Passports, are much rarer in circulation, because of time elapsed and small number of holders, respectively.
Smile Identity can help you accept Nigerian passports at onboarding with its Document Verification product. We confirm the authenticity of all the Nigerian passport types (so all manner of principal and edge cases are covered) and use Optical Character Recognition technology to read the KYC information on the document, which we return to the partner. We include SmartSelfie™, our proprietary facial verification technology, in the flow for extra security. Users simply snap a selfie and photo of their document to prove their identity online, and we take care of the rest.
