Nigeria cuts the UK passport fee from £70 to £20 after protests, delays and confusion over charges during a special intervention exercise
Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Ambassador Amin Dalhatu, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and the Nigeria Immigration Service are facing renewed scrutiny in London on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, after a disputed £70 administrative charge for a special passport intervention was reduced to £20 following protests, operational delays and confusion over what applicants were expected to pay.
The intervention exercise began on September 7 across London and Manchester, with further sessions scheduled for Cardiff and Aberdeen later in the month.
The programme was designed to help Nigerians in the UK obtain new passports, renew existing documents and resolve pending applications.
Instead, the opening days were marked by long queues, a technical disruption, a venue change in London and a growing dispute over additional charges.
The latest development has brought some relief to applicants. The Nigeria High Commission has reduced the intervention charge from £70 to £20, according to reports published on September 9.
The Mission’s current website also lists a £20 payment for applicants attending the special intervention exercise.
The reduction followed mounting criticism over the original £70 charge and came a day after Tunji-Ojo said applicants should not face additional fees beyond the official passport charges.
“It is therefore necessary to clarify that this process does not come with extra cost different from the official fees of $150 and $230 for five-year and ten-year validity passports respectively, exclusive of bank charges,” Tunji-Ojo said in a statement issued through his Special Adviser, Alao Babatunde.
The minister also said neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service had introduced additional charges outside those official passport fees.
The ministry said consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were continuing to address the difficulties experienced during the exercise.
That position created an immediate tension with the separate £70 administrative charge reported at the intervention centres.
Applicants questioned why an additional payment was being sought when the minister had publicly said the intervention came at no extra cost.
The disagreement spread quickly online and intensified frustration among Nigerians who had already travelled to the centres expecting a faster route through the passport process.
The High Commission’s subsequent reduction to £20 has eased the financial dispute to some extent, although questions remain about how the original £70 charge was introduced and how the various government institutions communicated their positions.
The High Commission’s official information currently requires applicants attending the intervention to present their passport application form, payment receipt, appointment slip and old passport where applicable.
It also lists a £20 postal order or electronic payment to the Mission, while a £150 charge applies to lost, misplaced or damaged passports.
The wider exercise has also faced operational difficulties.
On the first day, the Nigeria Immigration Service acknowledged a technical problem affecting biometric capture, particularly at the Manchester centre. The Service said the disruption was brief and was resolved promptly.
By the end of the first day, 230 applicants with booked appointments had reportedly been processed, including 140 in Manchester and 90 in London.
The figures provide an important counterpoint to reports of disorder.
While applicants complained about delays and difficulties at some locations, the Immigration Service said the exercise continued after the technical problem was resolved and reaffirmed its commitment to a more efficient process.
The London operation, meanwhile, encountered a separate setback involving its original venue.
The exercise had initially been scheduled at Layali Lounge, but the London operation was subsequently moved to 56 to 57 Fleet Street.
The High Commission notified applicants about the venue change after reports that people attending the original location had been asked to leave.
The Mission described the move as resulting from unforeseen technical challenges, while other reports linked the disruption to a dispute concerning the venue.
The change added another layer of uncertainty for applicants who had already arranged appointments and travelled to the original location.
The intervention had been announced in advance as a targeted response to passport delays affecting Nigerians in the UK.
The Nigeria Immigration Service said the programme would run in four cities, with London scheduled from September 7 to October 3, Manchester from September 7 to 21, and Cardiff and Aberdeen from September 21 to 26.
The High Commission’s current schedule confirms Fleet Street as the London venue, while Nigerian House on Platt Lane remains the Manchester location.
The controversy has nevertheless exposed a more fundamental problem than the amount of the disputed charge.
For applicants, the difficulty has been knowing which instruction to follow when statements from government institutions appear to differ.
The Interior Ministry has said there is no additional intervention charge, while the High Commission’s website now requires a £20 payment connected with the exercise.
The distinction between the official passport fee and a separate administrative or consular charge is therefore central to the dispute.
The official passport fees cited by the Interior Ministry are $150 for a five-year passport and $230 for a 10-year passport, excluding bank charges.
The High Commission’s website separately lists £20 for applicants attending the intervention and £150 for lost, misplaced or damaged passports.
The conflicting messages have made the latest intervention a test not only of passport-processing capacity but also of institutional coordination.
For Nigerians who travelled across the UK seeking relief from long-standing passport delays, the experience has been particularly frustrating.
An exercise intended to offer a practical solution has instead required applicants to navigate changing instructions, technical difficulties and a rapidly evolving fee policy.
The reduction from £70 to £20 is a significant concession and may help calm the immediate dispute. It does not, however, fully answer the questions raised over how the original charge was determined and communicated.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has continued to process applicants, while the High Commission has maintained its revised arrangements in London.
The intervention is expected to continue through September, with Cardiff and Aberdeen due to host applicants from September 21.
For the government, the immediate priority will be to restore confidence in the exercise and ensure that applicants receive one clear set of instructions before arriving at the centres.
For applicants, the hope is simpler: that the passport intervention will now deliver what it was originally designed to provide, a faster and more reliable route to obtaining the travel documents they need.
