Nigerian govt justifies fresh hike in passport fees

The Federal Government has defended its recent upward review of Nigerian passport application fees, describing the measure as essential to sustaining document quality, curbing corruption, and ensuring timely service delivery.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), in a statement issued on Thursday by its Public Relations Officer, ACI AS Akinlabi, confirmed that the new rates will take effect from September 1, 2025. Under the revised structure, applications made within Nigeria will attract N100,000 for a 32-page passport with five-year validity and N200,000 for a 64-page passport with ten-year validity.

The NIS clarified that fees for Nigerians abroad remain unchanged at $150 for the 32-page, five-year passport and $230 for the 64-page, ten-year passport. It said the adjustments were intended to preserve the integrity of the travel document and enhance the efficiency of issuance processes.

This development comes just a year after the Federal Government approved an earlier increase in August 2024, which raised the cost of the 32-page, five-year passport from N35,000 to N50,000 and the 64-page, ten-year passport from N70,000 to N100,000.

Speaking at the Ministry of Interior’s mid-tenure performance retreat in Abuja, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the latest hike was necessary to guarantee prompt service delivery and eliminate entrenched corruption in the system.

“Our target is clear: within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand. Not just delivering quickly, but delivering quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” the minister said.

He recalled widespread delays and extortion that once plagued the process, forcing applicants to wait for several months or pay as much as N200,000 to fast-track applications.

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“My own daughter had that bad experience. Even when I was Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, I had to pay hundreds of thousands to secure a passport for her. That era is over,” Tunji-Ojo stated.

The minister disclosed that the newly centralised personalisation centre, the largest in Africa, now has the capacity to print five times more passports than currently required, with applications vetted within 24 hours.

As part of the reforms, he announced that Passport Control Officers (PCOs) would no longer have the power to approve or delay applications, noting that the approval process has been centralised to reduce human interference and corruption.

“Some PCOs had so much power that they could decide not to approve a passport until they were settled. That abuse of power ends now,” he declared.

Tunji-Ojo further emphasised that the reforms would safeguard the credibility of Nigeria’s passport, preventing its abuse by non-citizens.

“My responsibility is not just to make passports available but to ensure that only Nigerians can hold them. Our passport must remain a true symbol of national identity,” he said, citing past cases where foreigners had illegally obtained Nigerian travel documents.

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