The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is set to phase out the existing Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) and replace it with a more secure, biometric-based document known as the Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP).
Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, announced the development on Wednesday during the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes in Abuja.
She said this is in line with global best practices in modernizing identity management and border governance.
According to Nandap, the new document will address long-standing challenges faced by Nigerians abroad who lose their passports or whose documents expire while outside the country.
“The STEP will serve as a temporary travel document for Nigerians abroad whose passports are expired, lost, or stolen, enabling them to return home in a secure and verifiable manner,” a statement by the Service Public Relations Officer, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, explained.
Unlike the old ETC, which was issued manually and vulnerable to misuse, the STEP will feature biometric verification and will be valid only for a single entry into Nigeria.
It will be processed exclusively at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates abroad.
The NIS said the initiative is part of its broader goal to improve service delivery, tighten identity protection systems, and reduce the risk of impersonation or document fraud.
Officials added that STEP aligns with the federal government’s drive to digitalize administrative services and restore public confidence in the country’s travel documentation.
Do you think the introduction of this STEP will finally end years of complaints from Nigerians stranded abroad due to delayed ETC issuance or identity verification issues?
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