What's current: Nigerian passport, NIN and BVN in the UK

The current fees, dates and official notices that Nigerians in the UK keep asking about, in one place. Every line is dated and linked to the source it came from. When two official sources disagree, we show both.

Page reviewed 17 October 2026. Link to this page rather than copying it, because it changes when the notices do.

Independent coordination service. Not the Nigeria High Commission, NIS or NIMC. Official fees are paid to the government directly, and you can complete the process yourself using the official portals linked below.

Nigerian passport fees (NIS)

$150 or $230, exclusive of bank charges. NIS quotes $162 and $242 payable.

The Nigeria Immigration Service fee for a 32-page, 5-year passport is $150 and for a 64-page, 10-year passport $230, paid in US dollars on the NIS portal. A statement for the Interior Minister on 7 September 2026 said these are exclusive of bank charges, and NIS's 11 September 2026 statement quotes $162 and $242 as the amounts payable. The contactless route adds a $100 NIS fee. Pay only the total the official portal shows you. Be aware that an older London mission page on the Nigerian foreign ministry's website still shows an earlier fee table ($77 for a minor's 32-page passport, $106 for an adult's, $137 for 64 pages) and an old application portal address. Those figures are out of date.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

Every cost of renewing in the UK

Nigeria High Commission London fees

£20 renewal admin fee. £150 for a lost, stolen or damaged passport. £120 for an Emergency Travel Certificate.

The High Commission's administrative fee for a passport renewal is £20, paid by UK postal order made out to the Nigeria High Commission, London, with a stamped Royal Mail Special Delivery C4 envelope for the return of your passport. There is no physical collection once biometrics are taken. A lost, stolen or damaged passport costs £150, not the £250 still shown on several money-transfer blogs. The Emergency Travel Certificate is £120, needs no appointment, is one-way to Nigeria and is valid for 30 days.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

Lost or damaged passport: the £150 route

Special Passport Intervention Exercise, Phase 2 (October 2026)

Phase 2 runs 6 to 30 October 2026 in London, Manchester, Cardiff and Aberdeen, by booked appointment only through the High Commission's Phase 2 form. Admin fee £20, or £150 for a lost passport, by postal order or e-payment. The High Commission was closed on 1 October for Independence Day; anyone whose biometric appointment fell that day can attend from 2 October.

NIS officers, with the High Commission, are enrolling pending, new and renewal applications in the UK, by booked appointment only. Phase 2 runs from 6 to 30 October 2026 in four cities: London at 56-57 Fleet Street, EC4Y 1JU; Manchester at Nigeria House, 23 Platt Lane, M14 5NE; Cardiff at the Western Leisure Centre, Ely, CF5 5HJ (the notice gave Sophia Garden, Sophia Walk, until at least 2 October); and Aberdeen at the Hilton Convention Centre, 13 Smithfield Road, AB24 4NR. It has its own booking form, separate from the September one. Phase 1 ran through September (London to 3 October). The notice says every applicant must bring the passport application form, the payment receipt for the application, a printout of the appointment slip, the old passport booklet (mandatory for any reissue, renewal or change of data), a £20 postal order payable to the Nigeria High Commission or an e-payment, £150 instead for a lost, misplaced or damaged passport, and a prepaid Royal Mail C4 special delivery self-addressed envelope for the return of the passport. Go by the date on your appointment slip and book only through the High Commission's form. When we checked the booking form on 17 October 2026, it showed no open appointments at any of the four centres for the rest of October. The High Commission says the approved administrative charge is £20 and that applicants who paid £70 will be refunded £50.

Checked 17 October 2026 against:

Intervention exercise: venues, dates, what to bring

Contactless passport renewal (NIS Mobile app)

Adults renewing an expired or page-exhausted standard passport only. $100 NIS fee, paid after your biometrics are accepted. You still post documents to the High Commission.

Eligible adults capture their face and fingerprints in the NIS Mobile app instead of attending. The $100 contactless fee is charged once the biometrics are reviewed and accepted. You then post the old passport, the printouts, a £20 postal order and a C4 Special Delivery envelope to the High Commission. Under-18s and first-time applicants cannot use it. NIS reported over 15,000 passports issued to Nigerians abroad through the system by 29 September 2025.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

Contactless renewal, step by step

How long NIS says a passport takes

21 days after successful enrolment for a renewal. 42 days for a fresh application or change of data. Complaints answered within 3 working days.

These are the standards in NIS's own Service Level Agreement, revised April 2026. The 21-day contactless standard is marked 'IF NLO', meaning where there is No Local Objection. The agreement does not say whether posting to the UK is included, and the High Commission's current pages publish no processing time of their own. Complaints go to nis.servicom@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng or the NIS contact centre, with a three-working-day resolution standard.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

How long renewal takes, and what to do if it stalls

NIN (NIMC number) for Nigerians in the UK

Required for passport applications and must match your passport. Enrol abroad only through a NIMC-licensed partner. NIMC's enrolment centre finder lists 215 UK offices of licensed partners, including 65 listed under London, 17 under Manchester and 8 under Birmingham.

The High Commission asks for a copy of your NIN with details matching your passport in the correct order, and the NIMC Act 2026, signed on 26 June 2026, wrote the passport requirement into law. NIMC licenses partners to enrol Nigerians abroad. Its enrolment centre finder lists 215 UK offices of licensed partners in more than 50 towns, cities and counties, and NIMC does not state on that page that each office is currently operating. A separate NIMC page lists nine UK locations for one partner, Ficoven, including 8 Duncannon Street in London (spelt DUCANNON on the list). NIMC's diaspora page separately states that the company operating as NIN London at 3rd Floor, Golden Cross House, 8 Duncannon Street, WC2N 4JF is not licensed by NIMC to enrol Nigerians in the United Kingdom on behalf of NIMC, so check the company name against NIMC's partner list, not the address. NIMC's fee schedule for partners' offices outside Africa, approved December 2019, sets $50 for enrolment at 16 and over, $40 under 16, $5 to reissue a slip, $10 for a modification and $35 for a date-of-birth correction, payable in local currency.

Checked 3 October 2026 against:

Renewing without a NIN, or with a mismatch

BVN from the UK

Remote enrolment through NRBVN: $50, non-refundable, BVN issued within 72 hours of approval. From 1 May 2026 the phone number linked to a BVN can be changed only once.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and NIBSS launched the Non-Resident BVN platform in May 2025. You enrol online with a Nigerian passport (valid or expired), proof of foreign residence and a utility bill, complete a liveness check and pay $50. BVN is free inside Nigeria. In-person enrolment centres listed by NIBSS in the UK are in London and Kent and charge their own fees.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

BVN from the UK: when you need help and when you do not

Nigeria visa for British passport holders

E-visa only, on the official NIS portal, since 1 May 2025. NIS says approval within 48 hours; apply 2 to 4 weeks before travel. NIS warns against any agent claiming to process e-visas.

Visa on arrival ended on 1 May 2025. Applications are made and paid for on evisa.immigration.gov.ng. NIS's FAQ says e-visas are approved within 48 hours but that busy seasons or incomplete documents can delay approval, and advises applying at least 2 to 4 weeks ahead. Its public notice of 6 May 2025 tells the public to refrain from engaging with any third-party websites or agents claiming to process Nigerian e-visas. GOV.UK adds that your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after arrival, that a yellow fever certificate is required, and, since an update on 28 September 2026, that travellers entering Nigeria from countries with Ebola virus disease transmission must complete an online Nigeria Health Declaration Form before travel.

Checked 2 October 2026 against:

Nigeria e-visa for British passport holders

Official warnings about agents and third parties

NIS: no third party is authorised for passport payments or processing. High Commission: disregard information not from its authorised channels. NIMC: NIN London is not licensed.

On 4 May 2026 NIS said it has never partnered with or authorised any private entity or individual to act as an intermediary or receiving account on its behalf, and that its official portal is the only authorised platform for passport applications and payments. On 11 September 2026 the High Commission told the public to disregard any information not communicated through its authorised channels. Nigerian Docs UK and the agent we work with are not authorised or recognised by NIS, NIMC or the High Commission: every official fee is paid by you, on the official portal or to the High Commission.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

Do you need an agent? A comparison of the two approaches

Travelling to Nigeria on an expired Nigerian passport

NIS says you should not be denied entry, but airlines may insist on a valid document. The Emergency Travel Certificate is the dependable route: £120, one-way, valid 30 days.

NIS said on X on 4 May 2024 that a Nigerian with an expired passport should not be denied entry to Nigeria if other travel requirements are met, while warning that some airlines insist on valid travel documents. Vanguard reported on 8 September 2026 that NIS repeated that Nigerians abroad can travel home and renew in Nigeria. Check with your airline before you book. The High Commission issues the Emergency Travel Certificate on the day, 9:30am to 1pm, without an appointment.

Checked 15 September 2026 against:

Travelling on an expired passport

What changed, and when

1 October 2026The High Commission announces Phase 2 of the intervention exercise: 6 to 30 October 2026 in London, Manchester, Cardiff and Aberdeen, with a new booking form. It is closed on 1 October for Independence Day; that day's biometric appointments can attend from 2 October.
5 October 2026The High Commission's Phase 2 notice now gives the Cardiff venue as the Western Leisure Centre, Ely, CF5 5HJ, in place of Sophia Garden, Sophia Walk, which it still showed on 2 October.
3 October 2026Our NIN entry now cites NIMC's enrolment centre finder, which lists 215 UK offices of licensed partners. It previously quoted only one partner's list of nine locations.
28 September 2026GOV.UK narrows the Nigeria Health Declaration Form requirement to travellers entering Nigeria from countries with Ebola virus disease transmission.
14 September 2026NIS publishes its week-one review of the UK intervention exercise.
13 September 2026ThisDay reports the High Commission refunding £50 to applicants who paid £70.
11 September 2026NIS extends the London and Manchester intervention to 3 October and quotes $162 and $242 as the payable passport fees. The High Commission tells the public to disregard information not from its authorised channels.
9 September 2026The High Commission cuts the intervention administrative fee from £70 to £20.
8 September 2026London intervention venue moves to 56-57 Fleet Street. Vanguard publishes NIS's step-by-step contactless process: the $100 fee is paid after biometrics are accepted.
7 September 2026UK intervention exercise opens. A statement for the Interior Minister says the $150 and $230 fees are exclusive of bank charges and there is no extra cost for the exercise.
26 June 2026The NIMC Act 2026 is signed, writing the NIN requirement for passports into law.
4 May 2026NIS states that no third-party platform, entity or individual is authorised for passport payments or processing.
1 May 2026CBN rule in force: the phone number linked to a BVN can be changed only once.
April 2026NIS revises its Service Level Agreement: 21 days after enrolment for renewals, 42 days for fresh applications.
13 May 2025CBN and NIBSS launch the Non-Resident BVN platform: $50, remote enrolment.
1 May 2025Nigeria's e-visa replaces visa on arrival for British passport holders.

Corrections. If you find anything out of date, email hello@nigeriandocs.co.uk with the source and we will check it and update this page. Nigerian Docs UK is an independent coordination service operated by Janus Compliance Limited, not the Nigeria High Commission, NIS or NIMC, and neither we nor the agent we work with are authorised or recognised by them.