The Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior has launched the much-anticipated International Passport Automation system.
The launch took place today, 8th January 2024, with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo alongside the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, holding a demo session with key stakeholders and development partners, presenting the automated passport application process.
TheFact Daily recalls that the Minister had, sometime last week, announced that automation of the passport application process will begin from January 8, 2024, when Nigerians will be able to apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact.
Tunji-Ojo at the launching today, said the programme intends to give applicants a convenient and secure experience while also reducing the human interface in the passport application process.
He emphasised the importance of the new system in strengthening the country’s security architecture and safeguarding Nigerian residents’ comfort and convenience and added that the Nigeria Immigration Service had deployed document verification personnel across all local government areas in the country to improve document verification.
The minister further emphasized the government’s commitment to putting a stop to the use of forged documents in passport applications.
The Ministry on its X handle details 5 simple steps with which individuals can enrol for their International Passport, which include filling out the form on the Service’s official website passport.immigration.gov.ng, uploading a passport photograph that meets International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and other supporting documents, capturing Biometric data at an Immigration Office and collecting the passport within two weeks.
Fresh applicants would have to: be Nigerian, have NIN, have a passport photograph that meets ICAO standards, and have their documents such as birth certificate, local government certificate of origin, and other documents ready, while to renew their passport, they would have to: have NIN, have an old passport number, have a passport photograph that meets ICAO standards, and have documents such as birth certificate, local government certificate of origin, and other documents ready.
