Nigerian Passport Contactless Renewal in the UK (2026)

What is contactless Nigerian passport renewal?

Contactless renewal is the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Contactless Biometric Passport Application System. You apply and pay online, then do the biometrics (face, fingerprints and a liveness check) on your own phone instead of at the Nigeria High Commission in London.

It opened to Nigerians in Europe, the UK and Ireland on 7 February 2025, with the UK as coordinating centre, after a rollout in Canada. By 29 September 2025, NIS said the contactless system had issued over 15,000 passports to Nigerians abroad.

The NIS Mobile app is published by the Nigeria Immigration Service on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Its store listing says it matches your live photo against your passport record and your fingerprints against the NIS fingerprint database (AFIS).

Who can use contactless renewal, and who cannot

The Nigeria High Commission's own requirements page says the contactless process is not available to anyone under 18 or for a first-time application. Those applicants go through the appointment system.

The app also runs its own eligibility check. NIS says that if the result is 'INELIGIBLE', you return to the portal and book a physical appointment. That check is the final word (not any website, this one included).

At the February 2025 launch in Europe, Vanguard reported these conditions. NIS's original launch page is no longer online, so treat them as a strong guide rather than the current rulebook:

• Standard passports only.
• Your passport should have less than one year of validity left, unless the visa pages are used up.
• You must be 18 or over.
• You must have had biometrics captured before.
• Special cases, such as a change of data or a lost passport, cannot use it.
• Your passport payment must be less than one year old.

How contactless renewal works, step by step

NIS published a revised step-by-step guide on its X account on 7 July 2026, reported by Channels Television, and Vanguard set out the same process in more detail on 8 September 2026. In order, the steps are:

• Go to the NIS passport portal (passportintl.immigration.gov.ng, the one the High Commission links to) and choose Apply for Renewal/Re-issue.
• Create an account and verify your identity with your Nigerian NIN (NIMC number) and date of birth.
• Complete the application form, choose the High Commission in London as your processing mission, and upload the required documents.
• Pay the passport booklet fee on the portal.
• Note your Application ID and Reference Number.
• Under Application Status/Book Appointment, choose the Contactless option, read the instructions and click 'I Understand and Opt In'.
• Download NIS Mobile, log in or create a profile, and select Passport Application Services, then Passport Biometrics Enrolment.
• Enter your Application ID and Reference Number and check your eligibility.
• Capture your facial image and fingerprints, and complete the liveness check.
• Submit your biometrics for review. Once they are accepted, pay the contactless service fee in the app.
• Post your documents to the High Commission (see below).

What contactless renewal costs

Contactless does not reduce the official fees. You pay the normal booklet fee, a separate contactless charge in the app (listed at $100 in the NIS Service Level Agreement, revised April 2026), and the High Commission's £20.

NIS lists booklet fees exclusive of bank charges, and its 11 September 2026 statement on the UK intervention quoted $162 and $242. Check the amount on each payment screen before you pay.

What you still have to post to the High Commission

You still post your old passport. NIS's July 2026 guide says to print the application form, the booklet payment receipt and the biometric payment receipt, and send them with your current passport in a self-addressed return envelope.

The NIS Service Level Agreement also lists the NIN slip among contactless requirements, so a copy is worth including. Send everything to Nigeria High Commission, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BX.

The High Commission's own contactless checklist is:

• A Royal Mail C4 Special Delivery self-addressed envelope for return delivery.
• The old passport (if applicable).
• The £20 administrative fee by UK postal order payable to the Nigeria High Commission, London, with your name and telephone number written on the back.
• Your application forms and payment receipt.

How long contactless renewal takes

The NIS Service Level Agreement gives contactless applications 21 days after successful enrolment, marked 'IF NLO' (No Local Objection). It is a published service standard, not a guarantee. NIS also says you can track an application two weeks after submission.

Real experiences vary widely. In a Premium Times opinion column on 5 July 2026, UK applicants described passports arriving within about five days to two weeks. These are individual accounts, not an official timescale.

On 6 September 2026, Vanguard reported that NIS had asked UK contactless applicants still waiting for passports to fill in a resolution form, with submissions reviewed after three working days.

NIS Mobile app not working: known problems and fixes

On 29 September 2025, NIS publicly acknowledged 'technical challenges' with the contactless system for Nigerians in the diaspora. It said it had upgraded the payment gateway and that previously identified app issues were being addressed.

Its support channels for the app are the in-app chat (Support, then Chat with Us), support@immigration.gov.ng and @nigimmigration on X. The contact centre numbers, also listed in the April 2026 Service Level Agreement, are +234 912 190 0655, +234 912 155 6359 and +234 912 147 7092.

Here is what can be sourced for each common fault:

• Payment OTP not arriving: NIS's own advice is to check your spam folder.
• Fingerprint or face capture failing: the app checks your capture against existing NIS records. Some Google Play reviews describe fingerprints marked 'failed' with no option to try again. We could not find a published NIS fix, so contact support before paying for anything twice.
• Details not accepted: the portal verifies you with your Nigerian NIN and date of birth, and the High Commission says your NIN must match your passport in the correct order. Fix a mismatch on your NIN record first. Going in person does not avoid this: the High Commission applies the same rule at appointments.
• Paid twice: the NIS refund policy covers a double payment on the same application, but not two applications for the same person. Apply within 21 days of payment. Approved refunds typically take six weeks.
• Nothing on the tracker: NIS says tracking works two weeks after submission, at track.immigration.gov.ng or in the app.

When to use the in-person route instead

Book an appointment at the Nigeria High Commission (the Nigerian embassy in London) if any of the points below apply. Appointments are booked at appointments.immigration.gov.ng, and submissions at 9 Northumberland Avenue run from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

Bring your stamped, self-addressed C4 Special Delivery envelope. The High Commission says there is no physical collection once biometrics are taken.

A Special Passport Intervention Exercise is also running, with the High Commission listing London at 56-57 Fleet Street until 3 October 2026. Book it only through the High Commission's website.

• The applicant is under 18.
• It is a first Nigerian passport.
• The passport is lost, stolen or damaged (the High Commission fee is £150, not £20).
• You need a change of name or other data. The High Commission accepts name changes by marriage or divorce, not by deed poll.
• The app returns INELIGIBLE, or biometric capture keeps failing.
• Your standard passport renewal does not fall in the portal's Expired or Page Exhausted class.

Doing it yourself, or getting help

If you are eligible and the app works for you, you can do contactless renewal yourself, and the only costs are the official ones above.

Help earns its keep when the app has failed, your NIN does not match, you are not eligible, or your travel date leaves no room for a lost month. Our coordination fee is quoted on contact, before you pay anything.