Passport application procedures are being automated — Immigration

According to the Service, it is attempting to do away with human interaction in the passport application and renewal processes.

To lessen the stress and delays Nigerians encounter while applying for passports, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) claims to be automating the passport application process.

The NIS is attempting to reduce human interface in the passport application process, according to Caroline Adepoju, acting comptroller general, who was a guest on Thursday’s Sunrise Daily programme on Channels Television.

“One thing that Nigerians know about the Nigeria Immigration Service is the issuance of the Nigerian passport, and we know the number of Nigerians that have applied for passports in the past two years has been very high and unprecedented,” Adepoju said.

Whatever the case, the service is making every effort to live up to Nigerians’ expectations. First and foremost, we are automating the passport application process to eliminate human contact.

“Our applications are available online, and we are trying to educate our applicants on the importance of doing so in order to avoid being patronised by louts,” Adepoju added.

However, the Acting Comptroller General reminded Nigerians that because a passport is a security document, it will take some time before they can be granted, noting that there are several procedures including doing security checks and address verification, among others.

She emphasised that new applicants don’t have to wait until they actually need the passport to start the application process and recommended Nigerians to always start their passport renewal applications six months before they expire.

“As a result, I make every effort to spread the word to individuals to renew their passports before they entirely expire. As soon as your passport’s six-month validity expires, you can begin the application process. Therefore, new applicants won’t have to wait until they absolutely need their passport, she said.

According to Adepoju, obtaining a new passport requires six weeks, however renewing an existing passport only requires three.

She said that, in light of the current crowding at the passport offices, the Service is making an effort to ensure that people applying for passport renewals don’t need to visit the offices because their data has already been recorded.

“At the moment, given the crowds at our passport offices, I’m attempting to send a message to the proper parties requesting that something be done regarding renewal like it is done in other regions.

Once we receive your information, we should be able to renew your passport using an online application rather than having to visit the passport offices in person; this would ease traffic. Therefore, only new applicants who require data gathering will be allowed to visit the passport office, according to Adepoju.