Nigeria grants visa-free entry to St Kitts and Nevis citizens

Nigeria has officially granted visa-free entry to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, marking the first time the country has extended such privileges to a nation outside ECOWAS and beyond the African continent

The new policy, which took effect on September 26, 2025, was facilitated through the 2025 AfriCaribbean Investment Summit (AACIS), spearheaded by Abuja-based Aquarian Consult Limited (ACL) under the leadership of Managing Director Aisha Maina.

Under the agreement, holders of ordinary, official, and diplomatic passports from St. Kitts and Nevis can now enter Nigeria without a visa.

Maina noted that this makes St. Kitts and Nevis the first country outside ECOWAS to enjoy visa-free status with Nigeria, joining Cameroon and Chad as the only other non-ECOWAS African nations with similar arrangements. She described the move as a strategic effort to boost trade, investment, and cultural exchange while advancing South-South cooperation.

The inaugural AACIS 2025, held in Abuja in March with St. Kitts and Nevis as the country of focus, laid the groundwork for this policy change. Shortly after the summit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with Prime Minister Terrance Drew in Abuja to further discuss strengthening bilateral ties.

In August, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, also held talks with St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Samal Duggins, focusing on food security, trade, and technical collaboration.

Prime Minister Drew hailed the agreement as symbolically significant, saying it would foster greater people-to-people contact, trade opportunities, and cultural exchange.

“The agreement symbolizes a reconnection of families and communities separated by the painful legacy of slavery. It brings Africa and its diaspora closer together and makes the vision of a truly united Global Africa more achievable,” he said, adding that the arrangement is a reciprocal gesture since Nigerian passport holders already enjoy visa-free access to St. Kitts and Nevis.

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