Nigeria Sends Passport Intervention Team to the UK

Nigeria has deployed a special Passport Intervention Team (PIT) to the United Kingdom to help clear a backlog of passport applications and make it easier for Nigerians in one of the country’s largest diaspora communities to get pending, new and renewed passports.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) announced the deployment in a statement issued on Sunday, 9 August 2026. The intervention was ordered by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who directed the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, to send a dedicated team from NIS headquarters in Abuja to the UK.

The team arrived in the UK on Monday, 10 August 2026, and is working in collaboration with the Nigerian High Commission in the UK to process pending, new and renewal passport applications.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service remains committed to efficient, transparent and responsive passport service delivery to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora,” the NIS said.

Who is eligible for the intervention?

According to the NIS, the special exercise is intended to cover three main groups:

• Nigerians with pending passport applications;
• Nigerians applying for a passport for the first time; and
• Existing passport holders whose passports have less than one year remaining before expiry and who wish to begin the renewal process.

Applicants participating in the intervention are required to have their completed passport application forms and proof of payment available at the time of enrolment.

Which cities, and when?

The team is working with the Nigerian High Commission in the UK and is expected to move beyond London to designated cities, bringing passport enrolment and processing closer to Nigerians living in other parts of the country.

However, as of 15 August, the NIS has not yet published the full list of cities, dates, venues and enrolment times for the travelling team.

Nigerians in the UK should monitor the official communication channels of the Nigerian High Commission in the UK for this schedule as it is released.

Digital services continue as normal

Another important point is that Nigerians should not interpret the UK exercise as a return to an entirely physical passport system.

The NIS says its existing digital passport application platforms will remain operational while the intervention team is in the UK.

This includes the Contactless Passport Application System, which was introduced as part of Nigeria’s wider effort to digitise passport services for citizens living abroad and that allows eligible applicants to complete parts of the renewal process, including biometric enrolment, without visiting a passport centre in person.

The existing passport home-delivery service, which remains available to applicants who prefer not to collect passports in person, will also continue.

The special intervention is therefore best understood as an additional capacity measure rather than a replacement for the digital system.

For questions or complaints relating specifically to the UK intervention, the NIS has provided these contact details:

• Email: passport.london@immigration.gov.ng
• WhatsApp-only line: +234 916 087 8000

The bigger picture

The UK intervention is part of a much broader attempt by the Federal Government to reform Nigeria’s passport administration. Since Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo became Minister of Interior in 2023, the government has made clearing passport backlogs and digitalisation major priorities.

In April 2025, the Service rolled out the second phase of its contactless biometric passport application system in the United States, Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil, allowing eligible Nigerians there to renew passports without an in-person biometric appointment.

The UK intervention, deploying immigration personnel directly to applicants rather than relying solely on digital tools, reflects the scale of the backlog affecting the UK specifically, home to one of the largest Nigerian communities outside Nigeria.

Collins Obi