Passports issued by the member states of ECOWAS follow a similar design, used by several countries in West Africa. Member states of ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — have implemented a 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.
Types
There are three types of passports of ECOWAS member countries:
Ordinary passport These passports are issued to citizens and are intended for occasional travel, such as vacations and business trips. They contain 32 pages, and are valid for 5 years.
Official/Service passport These passports are issued to officials attached to government institutions who have to travel on official business.
Diplomatic passport Issued to diplomats and consuls for work-related travel, and to their accompanying dependents.
Common design features
Overall format Paper size B7 (ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3, 88 mm × 125 mm) 32 pages (passports with more pages can be issued to frequent travelers) Colour of cover: green, blue and burgundy (depending on type of passport)
Cover 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.ECOWAS Passport. rowacacancersl.webs.com.
Additional common features include the inscription of the words "Economic Community of West African States" (), 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" () are inscribed on ordinary passports, "Official Passport" or "Service Passport" () on service passports; and "Diplomatic Passport" () on diplomatic passports.
Identification page The following information is printed on the identification page, in both English and French:
Type Code of Issuing State Passport No. Surname Given name(s) Nationality Date of birth Sex Place of birth Date of issue Date of expiry Authority
Overview of passports issued by the ECOWAS states ECOWAS state Passport cover Visa requirements Cost Validity Issuing authority Latest version Benin 30,000 CFA6 years Direction de l'Émigration et de l'Immigration (D.E.I.) 2016 Burkina Faso46,000 CFA5 yearsDirection Générale de la Police Nationale 2013 Cape Verde5,000 CVE5 years DEF 2005 Gambia1000.00 D5 years Gambia Immigration Department 2002 GhanaGH₵505 years Passport Office 2010 Guinea500,000 GNF 5 years Police de l’air et des frontières (PAF) 2018 Guinea-Bissau50,000 XOF5 yearsServiço de Migração e Fronteiras Côte d'Ivoire40,000 CFA5 years Police de l’air et des frontières (PAF) 2008 Liberia$50 (in Liberia) $205 (Overseas) 5 years Liberian Passport Office 2017 Mali85 €5 years Direction de la Police des Frontière 2016 Niger30,000 XOF5 yearsDirection Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire Nigeria₦ 15,000 (Standard, in Nigeria) $ 94 (Standard, Overseas) 10 yearsThe Nigeria Immigration Service 2019 Senegal20,000 CFA5 yearsDirection de l'Automatisation des Fichiers 2007 Sierra LeoneLe 750,000 5 yearsImmigration Department 2004 Togo30,000 CFA5 years Direction Générale de la Documentation Nationale (DGDN) 2012
See also African Union Passport
References