Nigerians can apply for passports online starting in December – Tunji-Ojo

The days of drawn-out enrollment processes are long gone and unacceptable, Tunji-Ojo emphasised, adding that Nigerians have a right to an easy process.

Reforms to streamline the passport application process are under progress, according to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Nigerians may be able to start submitting online applications as early as December.

Tunji-Ojo claimed that one of the improvements the ministry is implementing in passport management is to halt the “chaotic” passport application procedure on Channels Televion’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

“For my part, I have told service providers to make people’s lives as simple as possible. I have mentioned this to them both today and yesterday. We cannot add further complexity to the situation as a government or service, he remarked.

“As part of the reforms that we are implementing now, beginning in December, you even want to enrol for your passport, you fill out your forms online, you do your payments online, and everything.”

The minister was replying to a query about ways to lessen the frustration of Nigerians throughout the application process and how worldwide best practises for passport application and collection compare to what is in place in Nigeria.

The minister said that, in contrast to the foreign passport application process, only a biometric capture must be completed in person and explained that all other information can be provided via a Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) webpage.

“Your photo can be taken anywhere; you don’t need to go to the passport office. People from all over the world apply for visas to the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Your passport will be submitted to the platform with the necessary details as instructed by the NIS.

“You upload your passport and your supporting documents online, so when you go to the immigration office, all you spend like five minutes on is having your biometric captured,” he explained.

The days of drawn-out enrollment processes are long gone and unacceptable, Tunji-Ojo emphasised, adding that Nigerians have a right to a simple process.

“The time when people would give up their entire day to visit a passport office to enrol is over; it is intolerable. People have a right to a smooth experience, so you cannot put them in an uncomfortable situation based on their rights, he said.

Cleared the backlog

Out of the backlog of more than 300,000 international passports he encountered upon taking office, the Minister earlier on Wednesday stated that 204,322 are now available for pickup.

Ojo revealed the information at a news conference in Abuja, saying that only 99,901 of the funds available for collection had been collected.

Tunji-Ojo asked Nigerians to pick up their unclaimed passports and said the ministry was coordinating with the immigration agency and its suppliers to make sure that, starting in the following year, foreign passports would be sent straight to Nigerians’ preferred addresses.