Nigeria High Commission in the United Kingdom has announced plans to refund £50 to applicants who paid a £70 administrative fee during the ongoing special passport intervention exercise.
Gatekeepers News reports that the commission said the refund followed its decision to reduce the administrative charge for the exercise to £20, which it identified as the standard fee.
In a notice on its website, the mission said applicants who had already paid the £70 charge would receive £50 back, leaving the approved administrative fee at £20.
The development comes after criticism over the additional charges imposed when the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) began the passport intervention exercise in the UK.
TheCable had reported that applicants were initially required to pay an additional £70 administrative fee, separate from the official passport charges. The report also said the High Commission had imposed a £150 administrative fee for lost passports.
The passport intervention exercise was introduced to address backlogs involving new passport applications, renewals and pending cases across the UK.
The initial implementation was met with complaints from Nigerians, with reports of delays and large crowds at some intervention centres in London and Manchester.
Following the backlash, the High Commission reduced the administrative charge from £70 to £20 on September 9. TheCable reported that the reduction came after scrutiny over the additional fee.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had also expressed concern over the difficulties experienced by applicants and denied that the Federal Government had approved the additional administrative charges.
The special passport intervention exercise is being conducted by the NIS in collaboration with the Nigeria High Commission across several UK locations, including Manchester, London, Cardiff and Aberdeen. The High Commission’s current notice requires applicants to pay a £20 administrative charge, alongside the applicable passport fee and other required costs.
