Nigeria has deployed a special passport team to the United Kingdom to clear pending applications and expand access to services for one of the country’s largest diaspora communities.
The Passport Intervention Team is scheduled to arrive in the UK on August 10 and will work with the Nigerian High Commission to process pending applications, enrol new applicants and handle renewals, according to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Unlike conventional passport services centred largely around diplomatic missions, the team will travel to designated cities across the UK, allowing Nigerians living outside London to access enrolment and processing services closer to where they live.
The deployment was ordered by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who directed Immigration Comptroller-General Kemi Nandap to dispatch officials from the service’s headquarters in Nigeria.
The intervention comes as Nigeria tries to overhaul a passport system long associated with processing delays and difficult access, particularly for millions of citizens living abroad.
