Nigeria Announces Readiness to Open Passport Front Offices Across UK by February 2024 

Beginning in February 2024, the Nigerian government has declared that it is prepared to open passport front offices in a number of major UK cities, including Manchester, Birmingham, and Cardiff (Wales), in the next three months.

This was revealed by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in a Channels Television interview when discussing the difficulties Nigerians encounter when trying to renew their passports at foreign embassies overseas.

Nigerians residing overseas have voiced concerns about the slow pace of their passport renewal and collection processes, despite the minister having previously cleared the backlog of over 200,000 passports awaiting processing within Nigeria.

“I think there are only two places where we have this challenge now, realistically. I think in the UK—precisely, in London—and in the US—precisely, in New York. And that has to do with the concentration of Nigerians,” he said.

“There is no quick fix. But we have ensured Nigerians that by February next year, we will have opened our front offices such that we’ll have front offices in Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff in Wales, and Scotland.”

“So, once we have this, definitely, it will reduce the stress of Nigerians, it will reduce the waiting period, and of course, it will bring efficiency into the whole passport procurement system,” the minister said.

According to him, the challenge persisted because there was only one passport office in the entire United Kingdom.

He mentioned that the only option available to Nigerians residing in remote cities like Edinburgh (Scotland), Cardiff, Belfast (Northern Ireland), Manchester, or Birmingham was to travel to London in order to renew their passports.

The minister emphasized the significance of evaluating the immigration office’s daily capacity and the volume of passport requests received, given the significant number of Nigerians living in the nation. Between June 2022 and the end of June 2023, 141,000 Nigerians migrated to the United Kingdom (UK).

He previously stated in an interview with ARISE NEWS that the government was looking into ways to work with the private sector because it might not have the funds to open passport offices everywhere.

He noted that establishing passport front offices in several key cities would help curb corruption within the system.