The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has announced a £50 refund for applicants who paid a £70 administrative fee during the ongoing special passport intervention exercise.
The commission said affected applicants would retain £20 as the standard administrative fee.
The announcement, contained in a notice published on the commission’s website, followed complaints from Nigerians over charges and difficulties experienced during the exercise.
The development came days after the Federal Government denied introducing additional charges for the intervention exercise. The Interior Ministry said applicants were required to pay only the official passport fees, excluding applicable bank charges, while the Nigeria Immigration Service subsequently clarified that no additional charges were required to participate in the exercise.
The passport intervention exercise, originally scheduled to end on September 19, has been extended in London and Manchester to October 3 following a high turnout.
The NIS said it processed and enrolled 1,477 Nigerians within the first four days of the exercise, with more than half of the passports already produced and dispatched.
However, technical difficulties at the Manchester intervention centre reportedly disrupted the exercise, with applicants complaining about delays and uncertainty over fees and procedures.
