Nigeria High Commission to Refund £50 to UK Passport Applicants

The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has announced plans to refund £50 to Nigerians who paid a £70 administrative fee during the ongoing passport intervention exercise.

The refund effectively brings the administrative charge paid by affected applicants down to £20.

The High Commission announced the decision in a notice published on Friday, September 11, following complaints and scrutiny over the £70 fee imposed during the special passport exercise.

The development comes after concerns were raised over the additional charge, with reports indicating that the £70 administrative fee had not been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Applicants seeking replacement passports after losing their documents had reportedly been charged £150.

Responding to the controversy, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo had expressed concern about the difficulties Nigerians in the UK were experiencing during the intervention exercise and maintained that applicants were not required to pay additional administrative fees.

The Nigeria Immigration Service has now reiterated that the official passport charges remain $162 for a five-year passport booklet and $242 for a 10-year booklet.

NIS spokesperson Akinsola Akinlabi said on Friday that no additional payment was required from Nigerians participating in the intervention exercise.

He also disclosed that the special exercise, being conducted in London and Manchester, had processed and enrolled 1,477 Nigerians within its first four days.

According to Akinlabi, more than half of those enrolled had already had their passports produced and dispatched to their respective addresses.

The intervention exercise was initially scheduled to end on September 19 but has now been extended to October 3 following the high demand from Nigerians in the UK.

Akinlabi advised eligible applicants to secure appointments through the Nigeria High Commission’s official website and said details of the extended exercise, including participating locations and appointment arrangements, would be communicated through official NIS and High Commission channels.