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 arrived 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.
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 Scope of the Exercise
The special exercise will cover Nigerians with pending passport applications, new applicants, and holders whose passports have less than one year before expiry. The Nigeria Immigration Service has yet to announce the cities the team will visit.
Applicants have been advised not to travel to any location until the Nigerian High Commission releases the full schedule covering cities, dates, venues, and enrolment times.
Why the UK?
Britain is home to one of the largest Nigerian communities outside Africa. The UK’s 2021 census counted more than 270,000 Nigerian-born residents in England and Wales, up from about 191,000 a decade earlier. That population expanded further during Britain’s post-pandemic migration surge, when Nigeria became one of the leading sources of international students and skilled workers entering the country.
The size and geographic spread of the community has placed increasing pressure on consular and passport services. The decision to move officials around the UK is particularly significant for Nigerians living outside London, who have traditionally faced the additional cost and time involved in travelling to access consular services.
Nigeria’s Digital Passport Reforms
The physical deployment comes alongside a broader attempt by Nigeria to move passport services online. Nigeria began rolling out a contactless passport renewal system for its diaspora in 2025, allowing eligible applicants to submit biometric information remotely rather than visiting a passport centre. The programme was subsequently expanded to countries including the United States, Jamaica, Mexico, and Brazil.
The Nigeria Immigration Service said its digital application channels, including the Contactless Passport Application System, will remain fully operational during the UK intervention. Passport home delivery will also continue for applicants who choose the service.
Clearing the Backlog
The wider reforms are part of an attempt by President Bola Tinubu’s government to change a passport administration system that had accumulated more than 200,000 pending applications when Tunji-Ojo became interior minister in 2023. The government said it cleared more than 200,000 of those applications within weeks before introducing additional reforms.
Nigeria has since established a central passport personalisation centre in Abuja, replacing a fragmented production structure and significantly increasing the country’s passport production capacity. The Interior Ministry says the centralised facility can produce between 4,500 and 5,000 passports per day, compared with roughly 250 to 300 booklets per machine under the previous system.
The Bottom Line
Nigeria has deployed a special passport team to the UK to clear pending applications among its large diaspora community. The team will travel to designated cities across the UK, taking enrolment and processing services closer to Nigerians outside London. The intervention comes alongside broader digital reforms, including contactless passport renewal and home delivery. Nigeria has also established a centralised passport production centre in Abuja capable of producing up to 5,000 passports daily.
