Refund follows backlash over £70 administrative charge as NIS insists no extra payment is required for passport intervention….
The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has announced plans to refund £50 to applicants who were charged a £70 administrative fee for the ongoing passport intervention exercise.
The refund means affected applicants will ultimately pay the standard £20 administrative charge.
The commission disclosed this in a notice published on its official website on Friday, following mounting concerns over the fee charged during the intervention.
The development comes after the high commission reduced the administrative charge from £70 to £20 amid protests and scrutiny from Nigerians in the UK.
The £20 fee had been set during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari for a similar passport intervention exercise.
However, applicants were subsequently charged £70 for the current exercise, while a separate fee of £150 was reportedly imposed for lost passports.
The £70 charge was introduced without approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to officials familiar with the matter who spoke to TheCable.
The officials said the additional payment was requested to facilitate the process and generate revenue.
With the latest refund arrangement, applicants who already paid £70 are expected to receive £50 back, effectively bringing their administrative payment down to £20.
NIS says applicants should pay no extra charges
The controversy over the administrative fees has also prompted clarification from the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, had earlier expressed concern over the difficulties surrounding the passport intervention and denied that applicants were required to pay separate administrative fees.
In a statement on Friday, Akinsola Akinlabi, NIS Public Relations Officer, said the approved passport fees remain $162 for a five-year validity booklet and $242 for a 10-year validity booklet.
He said the intervention exercise, despite some challenges at the beginning, was now progressing smoothly at the London and Manchester centres.
Akinlabi advised eligible Nigerians to secure appointments through the Nigeria High Commission’s official website.
He also stressed that applicants were not required to make additional payments to participate in the exercise.
“No additional charges are required to participate in the intervention exercise,” he said.
According to the NIS spokesperson, 1,477 Nigerians had been processed and enrolled within the first four days of the exercise.
More than half of those applicants, he added, had already had their passports produced and dispatched to their respective addresses.
Passport intervention extended
The high demand for the exercise has also led to an extension of the intervention period.
Akinlabi said Tunji-Ojo had approved the extension of the exercise in London and Manchester from September 19 to October 3.
He said details of the additional dates, participating locations and appointment arrangements would be released through the official communication channels of the NIS and the Nigeria High Commission.
The refund announcement is expected to address one of the major complaints that emerged during the exercise, while the NIS maintains that applicants should not be required to pay charges beyond the approved fees.
