Nigeria has granted visa-free entry to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN), effective September 26, 2025. This makes SKN the first country outside the ECOWAS bloc and the first beyond Africa to enjoy such privileges.
The move has been hailed as a foundation for a new trade and mobility corridor linking Africa and the Caribbean.
The development follows the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit (AACIS ’25), hosted earlier this year in Abuja by Aquarian Consult Limited (ACL). ACL’s Managing Director, Aisha Maina, described the waiver as a milestone in strategic cooperation.
“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.
Until now, Nigeria’s visa-free policy applied only within ECOWAS, with Cameroon and Chad as exceptions outside the bloc. Covering ordinary, official, and diplomatic passports, the new waiver is seen as a bold step to deepen trade, investment, cultural, and people-to-people ties across the Atlantic.
The agreement builds on steadily growing relations between Nigeria and SKN. In March 2025, shortly after AACIS, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hosted SKN’s Prime Minister, Terrance Drew, in Abuja to strengthen bilateral cooperation. That same month, a historic non-stop Abuja–Basseterre charter flight carried 120 Nigerian delegates, creating the first direct air link between West Africa and the Caribbean.
Since then, ties have expanded into agribusiness, technology, and the creative economy. The Afri-Caribbean Business Expo in Basseterre highlighted new opportunities, while bilateral talks between Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, and SKN’s Agriculture Minister, Samal Duggins, advanced cooperation on food security and trade facilitation.
The visa waiver reflects Nigeria’s broader policy shift toward building targeted bilateral partnerships beyond Africa. Analysts note that granting visa-free privileges to SKN is a strategic step to diversify Nigeria’s trade, tourism, and diplomatic ties. With ACL’s facilitation under Aisha Maina’s leadership, the firm has emerged as a key driver of Afri-Caribbean relations.
