Nigeria High Commission London: Passport Appointments (2026)

Where is the Nigerian embassy in London, and when is it open?

Officially it is the Nigeria High Commission. Its address is Nigeria House, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BX, and its phone number is 020 7839 1244.

The High Commission's website gives two sets of hours. Immigration and consular services, meaning the submission of all applications, run from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Official opening hours are 10:00am to 5:30pm. Plan your visit around the 9:00am to 1:00pm submission window.

Emergency Travel Certificates are handled from 9:30am to 1:00pm with no appointment. The UK government's London Diplomatic List (September 2026) gives the Immigration Section's hours as Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 13:00, so do not plan to arrive near 1:00pm.

During the September 2026 intervention exercise, London intervention appointments are at 56-57 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1JU, not Northumberland Avenue. Always go to the address on your own appointment slip.

How do you book a Nigerian passport appointment in the UK?

For routine appointments you do not book with the High Commission directly. You apply and pay on the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) international passport portal, then book a biometric slot on the NIS appointment portal.

Adults renewing an expired or page-exhausted passport may be able to opt in to contactless enrolment in the NIS Mobile app instead, if the portal confirms eligibility. The portal shows a $100 service fee for this, and the High Commission says contactless is not available to under-18s or first-time applicants.

• Apply on passportintl.immigration.gov.ng, choosing the Nigeria High Commission in London as your processing embassy.
• Check appointment availability when the portal prompts you. Its availability checker says the dates shown are for information only and are not a guarantee.
• Enter your Nigerian NIN (NIMC number). The portal fills your personal details from your NIN record and says those details will be printed on your passport.
• Pay the passport fee in US dollars and print the payment receipt. Note your Application ID and Reference Number.
• Go to appointments.immigration.gov.ng, enter the Application ID and Reference Number, then pick a date (struck-through days are unavailable) and a time slot.
• Print the appointment booking slip. The portal says a copy is also sent to your email.

Can you change or reschedule your appointment?

Yes. The NIS appointment portal has a Reschedule Appointment page. You enter your Appointment Tracking Number and surname, choose a new date and slot, and print the updated booking slip.

The page does not mention a limit on changes or a cut-off time, so do not assume either. Reschedule as soon as you know, and bring the updated slip.

Intervention exercise appointments work differently. They are booked on a separate High Commission form, which warns that choosing two locations or booking two separate dates can invalidate your appointment. Each family member, including children, needs their own booking.

What to bring to a Nigerian passport appointment in London

The High Commission's published list for re-issue of a standard passport, which covers most renewals:

• Your original Nigerian passport, the old booklet.
• A printed copy of your passport application form, filled in, dated and signed.
• A copy of your Nigerian NIN (NIMC number), with details matching your passport in the correct order.
• A copy of your appointment booking slip from the NIS appointment portal.
• A £20 UK postal order payable to the Nigeria High Commission, London, or your receipt from the High Commission's e-payment platform.
• A stamped, self-addressed Royal Mail Special Delivery C4 envelope.
• Your NIS payment receipt. The High Commission lists it for first issue, lost passport and intervention appointments, so bring it anyway.

Extra documents for children, name changes and lost passports

Under 18: copies of both parents' passport data pages if both names are on the long birth certificate (at least one parent must hold a Nigerian passport), a consent letter signed by both parents, and the child's long birth certificate. If the Nigerian parent has died, bring a copy of the death certificate. If one parent's documents or consent are unavailable, the High Commission asks for proof of sole custody from a court.

Change of name: only by marriage or divorce, never by deed poll. For marriage, bring the marriage certificate, a consent letter signed by the husband and a copy of his passport data page. For divorce, bring the divorce certificate, proof of your maiden name and another ID in your maiden name.

Lost, stolen or damaged: a letter explaining why you need a replacement; the High Commission's lost-case form pack, with the guarantor's Form P/21 sworn before a magistrate, justice of the peace, commissioner for oaths or notary public, and the statutory declaration of lost passport sworn before a commissioner for oaths; a police report stating the loss; a copy of the old data page (or, for e-passport holders, the passport number); a copy of a guarantor's valid Nigerian passport; two recent photographs (one endorsed on the back by the guarantor); proof of UK address; proof of employment if employed; a letter from your academic institution if you are a student; and a £150 UK postal order. The guarantor must be Nigerian and known to you.

What happens on the day?

The appointment is for biometric enrolment. NIS says renewal applicants must appear with their passport booklet for photograph and biometric data capture, and Nigerians abroad submit at a Nigerian embassy or high commission.

There is no collection. The High Commission says there is no physical collection once biometrics are taken, and your passport is posted back in the Special Delivery envelope you bring.

If Royal Mail cannot deliver it, for example because nobody was in to sign or you moved, the passport goes back to the High Commission. Its website has published lists of returned passports for collection in London (the latest linked list is dated December 2023), so contact the High Commission if yours has not arrived.

Do not book non-refundable travel around an expected passport date. If you use our coordinated renewal, our turnaround guarantee is our own commitment, not a government timescale.

What goes wrong at Nigerian passport appointments?

Check each of these before you travel.

• NIN details that do not match your passport. The High Commission says your NIN must match your passport details in the correct order, and the NIS portal says changes must be made on your NIN record.
• No Special Delivery envelope. It is on every published list, and there is no collection.
• Arriving after submissions close. The submission window ends at 1:00pm.
• Applying as a standard renewal when the passport is lost or damaged. The portal has separate application reasons for lost and damaged passports, and the High Commission's lost-case list needs a police report, guarantor documents and a £150 fee.
• Leaving the old passport at home. The High Commission's intervention notice calls the old booklet mandatory for reissues, renewals and changes of data.
• A postal order with the wrong payee or amount.
• No printed slip. The requirements ask for a copy of your appointment booking.
• Booking an intervention slot without a paid application. The intervention form asks for your passport payment application and reference numbers.

Live outside London? Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow

The UK government's September 2026 lists of consulates outside London and of honorary consuls have no Nigerian entry: nothing in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow or elsewhere. Routine passport biometrics mean a trip to the High Commission in London.

The exception is an announced intervention exercise. In September 2026 the High Commission listed temporary centres in Manchester (Nigeria House, 23 Platt Lane, M14 5NE, 7 to 21 September), Cardiff (Sophia Garden, Sophia Walk, CF11 9XR, 21 to 26 September) and Aberdeen (Hilton Convention Centre, 13 Smithfield Road, AB24 4NR, 21 to 26 September), plus London at Fleet Street until 3 October. NIS has since extended London and Manchester to 3 October.

Intervention centres need a separate booking on the High Commission's form, and NIS says applicants with confirmed intervention appointments are assured of service. Do not turn up without one, and recheck the dates before you travel.

The other way to avoid the journey is contactless renewal, if you are an adult renewing an expired or page-exhausted standard passport and the NIS eligibility check accepts you. You post the documents to the High Commission instead of attending.