Nigeria Grants Visa-Free Access to St. Kitts and Nevis Citizens

Nigeria has taken a major step in reshaping its foreign, trading, and investment relations by granting visa-free access to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN), effective from September 26, 2025.

This decision marks a historic milestone, as SKN becomes the first country outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and beyond the African continent to enjoy such privileges.

This policy shift signifies the creation of a new trade and mobility corridor between Africa and the Caribbean. Until now, Nigeria’s visa-free regime was largely limited to ECOWAS states, with Cameroon and Chad being rare exceptions outside the bloc.

The visa exemption for SKN — covering ordinary, official, and diplomatic passports — is aimed at deepening trade, investment, cultural exchange, and people-to-people ties across the Atlantic.

The development follows the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit (AACIS ’25), hosted earlier this year in Abuja by Aquarian Consult Limited (ACL), where SKN was the country of focus. The summit helped build the momentum that has now led to concrete policy action.

Aisha Maina, Managing Director of ACL, described the move as a milestone in strategic facilitation:
“This visa waiver is more than diplomacy; it is about opening doors for trade, investment, and cultural exchange. At ACL, we are proud to have played a role in turning dialogue into action,” she said.

Bilateral ties between Nigeria and SKN began strengthening in March 2025, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hosted SKN Prime Minister Terrance Drew in Abuja. That same month, a historic non-stop Abuja–Basseterre charter flight carried 120 Nigerian delegates — the first direct air link between West Africa and the Caribbean.

Since then, relations have expanded across multiple sectors. The Afri-Caribbean Business Expo in Basseterre, co-hosted by ACL, provided a platform to showcase opportunities in agribusiness, technology, and the creative economy.