The Nigerian government confirmed the fresh increase in passport costs

The federal government has defended the new review of the Nigerian passport application, describing the action as important to maintain the quality of documents, curb corruption, and ensure time service provision.

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), in a statement issued on Thursday by public relations officers, ACI as Akinlabi, confirmed that the new tariff will be valid from September 1, 2025. Under the revised structure, applications made in Nigeria will withdraw N100,000 for 32 pages of passports with a five-year validity and N200,000 for 64-PANGKAR VALIDITY.

NIS clarified that the cost for Nigerians abroad remained unchanged at $ 150 for a 32-page passport, five years and $ 230 for a 64-page passport, ten years. It is said that adjustments are intended to maintain the integrity of travel documents and increase the efficiency of the publishing process.

This development came only a year after the Federal government approved the previous increase in August 2024, which raised the cost of a 32 -page passport, five years from N35,000 to N50,000 and a 64 -page passport, ten years from the N70,000 to N100,000.

Speaking at the Retret Performance of the Middle Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Abuja, Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the latest increase is needed to ensure fast service delivery and eliminate corruption that is embedded in the system.

“Our target is clear: in one week after registration, every Nigerian must have their passport in hand. Not only gives quickly, but provides quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” said the Minister.

He remembered the broad delay and extortion that had interfered with the process, forced applicants to wait a few months or pay as much as N200,000 to track the application.

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“My own daughter has a bad experience. Even when I am the Chairperson of the DPR Committee at NDDC, I have to pay hundreds of thousands to secure a passport for her. That era is over,” said Tunji-Ojo.

The minister revealed that the newly centered personalization center, the largest in Africa, now has the capacity to print passports five times more than what is needed today, with applications that are examined within 24 hours.

As part of the reform, he announced that the passport control officer (PCOS) no longer had the power to approve or postpone the application, noteing that the approval process had been centered to reduce human disorders and corruption.

“Some PCOs have so many strengths that they can decide not to approve the passport until they are completed. The abuse of power is over now,” he said.

Tunji-ojo further emphasized that reform would protect the credibility of Nigeria’s passport, preventing its abuse by people who were not citizens.

“My responsibility is not only to provide a passport but to ensure that only Nigerians can hold it. Our passports must remain a symbol of the actual national identity,” he said, quoting past cases in which foreigners illegally obtain Nigerian travel documents.