The Federal Government has deployed a special passport intervention team to the United Kingdom to clear backlogs and speed up the processing of passport applications for Nigerians living in the country.
The team, dispatched by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on the directive of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, will work alongside the Nigerian High Commission in the UK to resolve pending applications and improve access to passport services.
The intervention team is expected to arrive in the UK on Monday and move across designated cities to conduct enrolment and attend to outstanding passport cases.
According to the NIS, the exercise would cover Nigerians whose applications are still pending, those seeking new passports and citizens whose existing passports have less than one year to expiry and are therefore due for renewal.
Applicants taking part in the exercise are expected to come with their completed passport application forms and evidence of payment.
The immigration service said a detailed schedule for the intervention would be released, including the cities where the team will operate, dates, venues and enrolment periods.
It advised Nigerians in the UK not to travel to any location for the exercise until the official timetable is published.
Instead, applicants were urged to monitor announcements from the Nigerian High Commission in the UK and other official government communication channels for confirmed information.
The NIS said the intervention was part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to improve passport services for Nigerians in the diaspora and tackle delays affecting enrolment, processing and renewal.
Further information, including the operational schedule and locations, would be communicated before the exercise begins, the service assured.
