Nigerian Passport Slumps: 20 Visa-Free Destinations Lost, Govt Silent!
Nigeria's passport ranking has significantly declined according to recent reports, with the country losing access to numerous visa-free destinations. Both the IziVisa and Henley Passport Indexes highlight a reduction in international mobility for Nigerian passport holders, prompting concerns and calls for government action.The Nigerian government has remained silent regarding a concerning report that the nation has lost access to 20 visa-free destinations, significantly impacting the international mobility of its citizens. This development comes as the country's passport ranking plummeted from 90th position in July 2026 to 181st in the latest IziVisa Passport Ranking Index, a drastic fall highlighted by data published on IziVisa.com.
According to IziVisa.com's data, Nigerian passport holders can currently travel visa-free to 24 countries, obtain visas on arrival in 16 countries, and access 43 countries through electronic visas. These figures represent a notable decline from the 44 visa-free destinations Nigerians could access in July 2026, underscoring a substantial reduction in global travel opportunities for the country's passport holders. IziVisa's methodology ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without requiring a visa in advance.
Attempts by LEADERSHIP to solicit a response from Oluwafemi Adeniyi, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding this critical development, were unsuccessful. Despite calls and messages, no official comment was provided. An anonymous foreign affairs analyst expressed deep concern over the situation, describing it as "a sad situation for the country, which demonstrates how low the country has sunk among the comity of nations," and urged the Nigerian government to urgently address and reverse this trajectory.
The IziVisa 2026 ranking places the United Arab Emirates at the top, offering access to 185 out of 198 documented destinations via visa-free entry, visas on arrival, or electronic visas. Switzerland secures the second position, with visa-free access to 120 destinations, visas on arrival in 26, and electronic visas for 37. Other prominent countries in this ranking include Luxembourg, Malta, Denmark, Spain, and Finland. IziVisa emphasized that these disparities highlight significant differences in access to international travel, using visa-free access as a key measure of freedom of movement.
Separately, the July 2026 edition of the Henley Passport Index positioned Nigeria at 90th out of 199 passports globally, with a visa-free score of 44 destinations. This represented a marginal one-place decline from its 89th position in April 2026, though the number of visa-free destinations remained constant at 44. Henley & Partners, celebrating its 20th anniversary, assessed 199 passports against 227 travel destinations using data from the International Air Transport Association.
Within Africa, the Henley Passport Index ranked South Africa 49th globally (101 visa-free destinations), followed by Botswana at 61st (81 destinations), Morocco at 67th (71 destinations), Kenya at 68th (70 destinations), and Ghana at 70th (67 visa-free destinations). Nigeria shared its 90th ranking with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkmenistan, each offering visa-free access to 44 destinations.
It is important to note that the IziVisa Passport Ranking Index and the Henley Passport Index employ different methodologies and cover distinct sets of destinations, meaning their results should not be treated as directly comparable. Nonetheless, both indexes indicate a challenging environment for Nigerian passport holders seeking international travel.