Nigerians to Apply and Receive Passports at Home by 2025

The Nigerian government has announced a new initiative allowing citizens to process and obtain their passports from the comfort of their homes. The system, set to begin in April 2025, will allow Nigerians aged 18 and above, as well as those seeking passport renewals, to complete the application process online. However, first-time applicants will still be required to appear at a passport center to register their biometrics.

This new “contactless” passport processing system was unveiled by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja. The initiative is a collaboration between two Nigerian firms, Irish Smart Technology and New World, who have been testing the process for the past nine months.

The Minister highlighted that the new system aims to eliminate the challenges Nigerians face when applying for passports, both domestically and abroad. By reducing human interaction, the technology is expected to cut down on bureaucratic delays and prevent exploitation by middlemen who often create obstacles in the process.

Additionally, Dr. Tunji-Ojo announced that starting from April 2025, passport production will be centralized in Abuja, and no Nigerian immigration attaché in foreign missions will be authorized to approve visa issuance. This move is expected to further streamline passport processing.

The government has also approved the retention of 50% of the Nigerian Immigration Service’s (NIS) internally generated revenue, a measure aimed at boosting its efficiency and addressing delays in passport issuance.

The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mrs. Kemi Nandep, explained that the new contactless system would improve the convenience of passport processing while enhancing the security of Nigerian passports in line with international standards.

In a further effort to strengthen national security, the government is constructing 32 forward operational bases across the country to support the NIS’s operations.