The ECOWAS passport is a common passport document for several countries in West Africa.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (French) | |
|---|---|
Map of Africa indicating the ECOWAS member states.
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Member states of ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — have implemented the common design for the passport. It was created to facilitate the intra-regional travel of member states' citizens for periods of unlimited duration. The passport can be used within the sub-region and is also recognized for international travel.
There are three types of ECOWAS passports:
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) itself does not issue passports, but the passports issued by its 15 members share certain design features. These include the green coloured cover for ordinary passports, blue colored cover for service passports, and burgundy colored cover for diplomatic passports, as well as common security features and biometrics.[1]
Additional common features include the inscription of the words ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS), French: COMMUNAUTÉ ÉCONOMIQUE DES ÉTATS DE L’AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST (CEDEAO), depending on the language of the issuing state. While the emblem of the ECOWAS community is emblazoned on the cover page of some passports, it is possible to notice some ECOWAS passports of certain countries with the respective state’s emblem on the cover instead. The name of the issuing country is usually the only distinguishing factor between passports issued by the various sovereign nations of the sub-region.
Near the bottom of the passport cover, depending on the official language of the issuing state, the words PASSPORT, French: PASSEPORT are inscribed on ordinary passports, OFFICIAL PASSPORTorSERVICE PASSPORT, French: PASSEPORT DE SERVICE on service passports; and DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT, French: PASSEPORT DIPLOMATIQUE on diplomatic passports.
The following information is printed on the identification page, in both English and French:
| ECOWAS state | Passport cover | Visa requirements | Cost | Validity | Issuing authority | Latest version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Benin 
|
|
|
6 years |
Direction de l'Émigration et de l'Immigration (D.E.I.) |
2016 | |
 Burkina Faso |
|
46,000 CFA |
5 years |
Direction Générale de la Police Nationale |
2013 | |
 Cape Verde |
|
|
5,000 CVE |
5 years |
DEF |
2005 |
 Gambia |
|
5 years |
Gambia Immigration Department |
2002 | ||
 Ghana
|
|
|
GH₵50 |
5 years |
Passport Office |
2010 |
 Guinea
|
|
500,000 GNF |
5 years |
Police de l’air et des frontières (PAF) |
2018 | |
 Guinea-Bissau
|
|
|
50,000 XOF | 5 years | Serviço de Migração e Fronteiras | |
 Côte d'Ivoire
|
|
5 years |
Police de l’air et des frontières (PAF) |
2008 | ||
 Liberia
|
|
|
$50 |
5 years |
Liberian Passport Office |
2017 |
 Mali
|
|
85€ |
5 years |
Direction de la Police des Frontière |
2016 | |
 Niger
|
|
30,000 XOF | 5 years | Direction Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire | ||
 Nigeria
|
 |
|
₦ 15,000 |
10 years |
The Nigeria Immigration Service |
2019 |
 Senegal
|
 |
|
20,000 CFA |
5 years |
Direction de l'Automatisation des Fichiers |
2007 |
 Sierra Leone |
|
Le 750,000 |
5 years |
Immigration Department |
2004 | |
 Togo
|
|
|
30,000 CFA |
5 years |
Direction Générale de la Documentation Nationale (DGDN) |
2012 |
