Do you need a Nigerian passport agent in London? An honest answer

Doing it yourself

You pay only the official fees ($150 or $230 to the NIS, £20 to the High Commission for a renewal). You create the application on the NIS portal, book your own biometric slot, assemble the documents, and attend. Adults renewing may use the contactless route through the NIS Mobile app. It is entirely doable, and if your case is a straightforward adult renewal with a matching NIN and no time pressure, you may not need anyone.

Where people get stuck, in our experience and in the public record:

• NIN details that do not match the passport, which blocks the application until corrected.
• Appointment slots months away, and not knowing about the annual intervention exercises that add capacity.
• Arriving without the Special Delivery C4 envelope or the right postal order, and being turned away.
• Children's applications: the consent letter, both parents' documents, and the fact that minors cannot use contactless.
• Lost passports: the police report, the guarantor sworn on the day, and outdated fee figures online.
• Portal and app faults: payment OTPs not arriving, fingerprint capture failing.

Having it coordinated

You still pay the official fees to the government yourself. On top, you pay a coordination fee, which we quote to you in writing with your appointment date before you pay a penny. For that, we find out exactly what your case needs, check every document against the current requirements, have our vetted UK-based agent prepare and submit the application and book the slot, brief you the day before, and track the document to your door. The aim is simple: you attend once, and it goes through first time.

And on passports we put a number on it: 10 working days, guaranteed. Or your coordination fee back. Other agents say "several weeks"; the High Commission publishes no timescale at all.

How to avoid being scammed

The Nigeria Immigration Service states that it authorises no third-party agents, and the High Commission has warned about misleading third-party information. In 2021, people in the UK were charged £200 to £350 for fake access to approval lists. NIMC has publicly named at least one London operator as not licensed to enrol NINs. So:

• Never pay an official fee to anyone except the government portal or the High Commission.
• Never pay a service fee before you have a written quote and a confirmed appointment date.
• Check the company: a registered UK company number and an ICO registration should be visible on the website.
• Nobody can attend biometrics for you or skip the queue. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
• For NIN, only NIMC-licensed centres can enrol you. Ask which licence the centre operates under.

We publish our company number and ICO registration in the footer of every page, we never take official fees, and you never pay us before your quote and date are confirmed.

Outside London

There is no Nigerian consulate in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow or Leeds; biometrics for a passport are in London (and in other cities only during the annual intervention exercises). NIN and BVN capture, however, happens at licensed centres in several UK cities. We coordinate for people anywhere in the UK and tell you honestly when a trip to London is unavoidable and when it is not.

Start with the right page

• Passport renewal

• Child's passport

• Lost or damaged passport

• NIN registration

Tell us your case

If you are unsure whether you need coordination, message us. We will tell you honestly, including when you can do it yourself.