The Federal Government has moved to clear the air over passport fees for Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK), saying applicants under the ongoing special intervention exercise will not pay any extra charges.
The clarification was made in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Interior on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, on behalf of the Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The government said the intervention was introduced to create more opportunities for Nigerians in the UK to process their international passports without any additional government charges.
According to the statement, applicants are only required to pay the approved fees of $150 for a five-year passport and $230 for a 10-year passport, excluding bank charges.
“The intervention was introduced to provide Nigerians in the UK with more opportunities to process their passport applications, and no new fees have been added to the exercise,” the statement said.
It added that neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had introduced any charges outside the approved passport fees.
The minister also acknowledged complaints from some Nigerians in the UK over the difficulties experienced during the application and processing of passports.
The statement said the Ministry of Interior was working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the challenges and improve the exercise.
The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to improving passport services for Nigerians both within the country and abroad.
