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Immigration to replace emergency travel certificate with single-use passport
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Immigration to replace emergency travel certificate with single-use passport

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November 5, 2025

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced plans to phase out the Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) and introduce a new Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP) for stranded Nigerians abroad.

NIS Comptroller-General, Kemi Nandap, revealed the development at a joint thematic meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat and Niamey processes, co-hosted by Nigeria and France in Lagos.

The two-day forum brought together key stakeholders in migration management, including the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), representatives of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), and delegates from several African and European countries.

The ETC currently serves as a one-way travel document issued to Nigerians who lose their passports or are stranded abroad, allowing them to return home.

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Nandap explained that STEP will provide a more secure and verifiable alternative for such citizens. According to a statement issued on Wednesday by A.S. Akinlabi, the NIS Public Relations Officer, the new document will only be issued at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates and will be valid for a single entry into the country.

She added that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen migration management systems and curb human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

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