The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has extended its special passport intervention exercise for Nigerians in the UK by two weeks to October 3, 2026, after London and Manchester centres saw an overwhelming rush of applicants seeking new or renewed passports.
The extension was announced in a statement issued on Friday by DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, the Service’s Public Relations Officer, who said the decision was taken to give more eligible applicants a chance to be attended to after the exercise recorded what officials described as an unexpectedly high turnout in its opening days.
According to the statement, the extension was approved under the directive of the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and will see the London and Manchester centers remain operational from September 19 through October 3, 2026, well beyond the September 19 closing date originally pencilled in when the exercise was first unveiled last month.
The numbers explain the rationale behind the extension. Within just the first four days of the exercise, the NIS said 1,477 Nigerians in the UK had been successfully processed and enrolled, with more than half of those already having their passports produced and dispatched to their home addresses.
For an intervention originally designed to run for less than two weeks, that volume of applicants appears to have quickly tested the capacity of both venues, prompting authorities to build in additional time.
The London and Manchester leg is part of a broader intervention program the NIS rolled out across the UK beginning September 7, in collaboration with the Nigerian High Commission in London.
The exercise was originally conceived to cover four cities: London, Manchester, Aberdeen, and Cardiff, with the Manchester center, now relocated to Fleet Street, running in tandem with the London center, while shorter sessions were scheduled for Aberdeen and Cardiff between September 21 and 26.
The program traces back to a directive from Comptroller-General of Immigration Kemi Nandap in early August, when a dedicated Passport Intervention Team was deployed from NIS headquarters in Abuja to work alongside the High Commission to clear a backlog of pending applications, process fresh ones, and assist Nigerians whose passports were nearing expiry.
It is against that backdrop that the London and Manchester centers, evidently the busiest of the four, have now had their timelines extended, while Aberdeen and Cardiff continue on their original, shorter schedule.
The NIS acknowledged in Friday’s statement that the exercise had not been entirely without friction, noting that both centers faced challenges on their first day of operation but said things have since stabilized and are now running smoothly.
Eligible applicants are not able to simply walk in. The NIS has reiterated that participation is strictly by appointment, booked through the website of the Nigerian High Commission in the UK.
On the day of the appointment, applicants are expected to come with a completed application form and proof of payment, their appointment slip, their current passport where applicable, and a self-addressed return envelope for onward dispatch of the new booklet.
The service was emphatic that the entire process from application to payment is fully automated and cashless, a point it has had to stress repeatedly amid reports from some applicants in the UK of demands for unofficial charges at the venues.
Officials and community members alike have urged applicants to rely strictly on figures published through official government channels rather than word of mouth, after confusion arose in some quarters over supplementary administrative fees charged by the High Commission for services such as replacing lost or damaged passports.
The core passport fees remain as they were before the exercise began: $162 for a five-year validity booklet and $242 for a ten-year validity booklet.
The NIS was firm that no additional payment is required simply to take part in the intervention exercise itself, distinguishing the standard booklet fee from any separate administrative charges that may apply to specific categories of applicants, such as those replacing lost documents.
The NIS said further details on the extended dates, participating locations, and appointment procedures for the London and Manchester legs would continue to be communicated through its official channels and those of the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, urging applicants not to rely on unofficial sources for updates.
In closing its statement, the Service thanked Nigerians in the UK for their patience through the early hiccups of the exercise and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering efficient, transparent, and responsive passport services to citizens in the diaspora, a pledge that will now be tested over the additional two weeks the London and Manchester centres remain open.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The NIS has pushed the London and Manchester passport intervention deadline to October 3, 2026, because demand far outpaced expectations, with 1,477 applicants processed in just four days.
If you’re in the UK and need a passport, don’t miss this extra window, but book through the official High Commission website only, bring the required documents, and remember the process is fully cashless: $162 (5-year) or $242 (10-year), with no extra fee to join the exercise itself.
