Renewing a Nigerian Passport Without a Nigerian NIN (NIMC Number)

Can I renew my Nigerian passport without a Nigerian NIN (NIMC number)?

No. For a renewal and for a first passport, the Nigeria High Commission (the Nigerian embassy in London, as most people search it) lists a copy of your National Identification Number, with the note: “Your NIN must match the details on your passport in correct order”.

NIMC says the same from its side. Its diaspora page states that Nigerians abroad whose passports have expired “must obtain their NINs as a prerequisite for renewal of their Nigerian international passports or in order to acquire new passports.”

This is the 11-digit Nigerian National Identification Number issued by NIMC. It has nothing to do with a UK National Insurance number.

What the NIMC Act 2026 means for passports

President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 at the State House, Abuja, on Friday 26 June 2026. NIMC said the Act repeals and replaces the NIMC Act 2007.

At the signing, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said that “today, you can’t get a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC”.

A legal analysis of the Act published by Advocaat Law Practice in August 2026 says section 26 makes the NIN mandatory for transactions including the issuance of international passports. We could not find the Act’s full text on an official government website on 15 September 2026, so the section number comes from that analysis.

For UK applicants the practical rule is simple: with no NIN, or a NIN that does not match, you do not meet the High Commission’s published requirement, so fix the NIN before you apply.

Why a Nigerian NIN (NIMC number) that does not match your passport blocks the application

The Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta’s April 2024 notice on the automated process says NIS’s portal checks your NIN at the start of the application, and puts it plainly: “Arrangement of names (last/surname, first and middle) and date of birth (day/month/year) on the PASSPORT and the NIN must MATCH EXACTLY. Enhanced e-Passport cannot be processed if there are discrepancies in the Passport and NIN data.”

NIS itself told applicants in April 2023 that the data they submit must be “EXACTLY the same as that on your NIN”, as reported by The Guardian Nigeria. Compare these, letter by letter:

• Name order: surname, first name and middle name in the same positions on both records.
• Spelling of every name, including shortened or anglicised versions.
• Date of birth: day, month and year, watching for day and month swapped.
• Surname after marriage or divorce, where one record was updated and the other was not.

How to check your Nigerian NIN (NIMC number) record from the UK

If the phone number on your NIN record is one you no longer have, deal with it early: NIMC’s 2026 FAQs say modifications are done one field after the other. NIMC’s 2026 FAQs list the requirements for an international phone number change as a SIM pack certificate, a letter of authorisation from a notary public and an affidavit of loss.

• NIMC’s NINAuth app, from the Apple App Store or Google Play (NIMC’s official NINAuth site is ninauth.nimc.gov.ng): NIMC says you can download your NIN slip free from the app. Check the names and date of birth on it.
• Your existing NIN slip, if you still have it.

How Nigerian NIN (NIMC number) modification works from the UK

Modification corrects your existing record. Your NIN stays the same and a new slip is issued. NIMC says modifications cannot be done by proxy.

Route 1 is a NIMC-licensed diaspora partner. NIMC’s fact sheet says their licences cover modification and updating of data abroad.

NIMC’s modification page, written for its own enrolment centres, lists your original NIN slip, evidence of payment, a signed application letter stating the change and the reason, and supporting documents, and your biometrics are captured again.

On that in-Nigeria page, a name change needs a sworn affidavit and newspaper extract, plus a marriage certificate where marriage is the reason, and a date of birth change needs a National Population Commission attestation. NIMC’s diaspora fact sheet describes the partner route differently: an application letter with supporting documents such as a marriage certificate, birth certificate or statutory declaration of age, and, for a date of birth, evidence certified by a notary public, subject to approval by NIMC’s governing board. Ask the partner which list it applies before you pay.

NIMC’s diaspora fee schedule, approved by its board in December 2019, set these charges for countries outside Africa, in US dollars. Confirm the current price with the partner before paying.

NIMC’s self-service modification portal

Route 2 is NIMC’s portal at selfservicemodification.nimc.gov.ng. It handles four changes only: name, date of birth, address and phone number. NIMC says payments are non-refundable, a date of birth can be changed only once in a lifetime and cannot be reversed, and a change of five years or more has to go through an enrolment centre.

NIMC’s self-service portal asks for a National Population Commission certificate or attestation for a date-of-birth change, and NIMC’s FAQs say no other document can be used instead. Payments are non-refundable, so if you were born outside Nigeria and have no NPC document, ask a licensed partner about its route before paying on the portal.

NIMC’s FAQs say a successful self-service change takes 24 to 72 hours to reflect, and a name change 3 to 5 days after approval. Those are NIMC’s figures, not a promise.

Abroad, only NIMC-licensed partners can enrol you

NIMC licenses partners, mostly private companies, to enrol Nigerians abroad and publishes them on its diaspora page, with a separate list of active locations. Enrolment in Nigeria is free, but NIMC’s fact sheet says that funding does not extend to the diaspora, so partners charge fees.

NIMC’s diaspora page names a company operating as “NIN London” and states that it “is not licenced by NIMC to enrol Nigerians in the United Kingdom on behalf of NIMC”, adding: “Be informed that doing business with them is at your own risk.”

• Check the company name against NIMC’s licensed partner list before paying.
• Check the address against NIMC’s published locations, but do not treat a match as proof. NIMC’s diaspora page names “NIN London”, at 3rd Floor, Golden Cross House, 8 Duncannon Street, WC2N 4JF, London, as not licensed by NIMC to enrol Nigerians in the United Kingdom on behalf of NIMC, while its Ficoven locations page lists a London location at the same street address (spelt “8 DUCANNON STREET WC2N 4JF”). If a centre is at that address, or anything does not line up, email nimccustomercare@nimc.gov.ng before paying.
• Do not pay through social media pages. NIMC’s fraud alert warns against unauthorised sites and pages charging for its services.
• Never enrol a second time to get round a mismatch. NIMC’s fact sheet says a NIN is issued once in a lifetime and any attempt to re-register is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment and fine.

No Nigerian NIN (NIMC number) at all? Enrolling in the UK

NIMC’s fact sheet sets out the steps: choose a licensed partner active in the UK, pre-enrol through the link on its website to get a 2D barcode, pay and book on the partner’s site, then attend with your proof of citizenship, payment evidence and barcode for fingerprints, photograph and signature.

The fact sheet names the proof of citizenship as a valid Nigerian passport, or an authentication letter from the Nigerian mission if you have no Nigerian passport. If yours has expired, ask the partner before booking whether they accept it.

Type your names in the same order and spelling as your passport. That alone avoids the name-order mismatch.

If your fingerprints match an existing record, you get a transaction slip instead of a NIN. NIMC says a true match can mean your data already reached its database through harmonisation with other agencies and the BVN, in which case your NIN is sent to you. NIMC also says you can enrol free in Nigeria if you travel with a valid passport.

The right order: fix your Nigerian NIN (NIMC number), then the passport

Work in this order. You can do every step yourself. If you would rather we coordinate the modification and then the passport, our fee is quoted on contact, before you pay anything.

• Put your NIN record and your passport data page side by side.
• Decide what your details should be. The passport application is checked against your NIN, so the NIN must already hold the details you want on the passport.
• If the NIN is wrong, modify it and wait until the change shows on a new NIN slip, which NIMC says you can download free from the NINAuth app.
• If the passport itself is wrong, NIS treats it as a correction of data, with its own documents such as a birth certificate or declaration of age, a court affidavit and a newspaper publication. In London, a change of name is accepted only through marriage or divorce, not deed poll.
• Apply on the NIS portal with your names in exactly the NIN order, then book your appointment, or check whether contactless is open to you as an adult renewing.