The Federal Government has deployed a special Passport Intervention Team to four major regions across the United Kingdom in a major effort to address long-standing delays and improve access to consular services for Nigerians living abroad.
The initiative, directed by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, followed strategic consultations involving the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the High Commission of Nigeria and representatives of the Nigerian diaspora in the United Kingdom.
The intervention is designed to make passport application and renewal easier for thousands of Nigerians by taking key processing services, including biometric capture and application resolution, directly to designated regional centres.
Under the schedule, the exercise will begin simultaneously in London and Manchester from September 7 to September 19.
Applicants in London will be attended to at Layali Lounge on Bramley Road, while the Manchester intervention will hold at Nigerian House on Platt Lane.
The exercise will subsequently move to Scotland and Wales from September 21 to September 26, with intervention centres located at the Hilton Convention Centre on Smithfield Road in Aberdeen and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Officials said the designated centres would handle biometric enrolment and resolve issues associated with passport applications.
However, all prospective applicants are required to complete their registration and payment online through the official Nigeria Immigration Service passport portal before visiting any of the intervention centres.
The authorities stressed that no cash payments would be accepted at the venues and that unregistered walk-in applicants would not be attended to.
The UK passport intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s broader reform agenda to modernise passport administration, reduce processing backlogs and improve service delivery for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
The initiative is also expected to ease the burden on Nigerian citizens in the United Kingdom who have faced delays and other difficulties in renewing or obtaining critical travel documents.
