Nigerians in UK decry delays, extra fees and poor organisation at passport centres

A passport intervention meant to ease a backlog for Nigerians in the United Kingdom has instead drawn complaints of hours-long waits, poor organisation and extra charges.

The National Immigration Service announced the exercise in August to help Nigerians obtain new passports, renew existing ones and resolve pending applications. Its first phase was scheduled for London and Manchester from September 7 to 19.

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A 9am appointment is yet to be attended to at 12 noon. Mind you, people paid £70 for these shambles.

The service instructed applicants to submit their applications online and pay through the NIS Passport Application Portal before attending. It warned that people who failed to do so would not be attended to. Yet images and videos from Manchester showed crowds outside the intervention centre, while applicants said they had been delayed despite completing their applications days earlier.

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It is deplorable and wholly inadequate.

Agbaeze Ejem, who attended in London, said he arrived at 9 a.m. but completed the process only hours later, despite the low turnout when he arrived. Another applicant wrote on X, "A 9am appointment is yet to be attended to at 12 noon. Mind you, people paid £70 for these shambles."

A Manchester-based Nigerian social worker described the experience as "deplorable and wholly inadequate." She said people had rearranged their lives to attend, only to face chaos, poor planning and long waits without being served. Other applicants also criticised the reported closure of a venue and alleged that the NIS had not paid the centre's management.

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You announce a passport intervention for Nigerians in parts of the UK; people rearrange their lives to attend. Some reportedly arrive early, and what greets them is chaos, poor planning, and people waiting for hours without being attended to.