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By Woke Joshua
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has enrolled 8,552 Nigerians in the diaspora under its ongoing passport intervention exercises in the United States, Canada, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
The initiative, aimed at improving access to passport services for Nigerians abroad, was implemented under the directive of the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The NIS Service Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, noting that the exercises were designed to take passport services closer to Nigerians in various cities.
According to him, the Service worked with Nigerian diplomatic missions and representatives of Nigerian communities in the affected countries to ensure effective and coordinated service delivery.
In the United States, 535 applicants were enrolled in Chicago, Michigan and Milwaukee between September 7 and 15, 2026.
A total of 2,257 Nigerians were enrolled in Canada across Manitoba, Toronto, Saskatoon, Alberta and New Brunswick between September 6 and 19.
In Qatar, the exercise conducted between August 9 and 24 recorded 751 enrolments.
The United Kingdom recorded the highest number so far, with 5,099 Nigerians enrolled in London and Manchester.
The NIS said the UK exercise was still ongoing, with passport production and dispatch being undertaken concurrently.
The Service urged Nigerians who could not secure appointment slots during the intervention, as well as those who preferred not to visit passport centres or the High Commission physically, to make use of its Contactless Passport Application System.
The NIS reaffirmed its commitment to providing accessible, timely, responsive and convenient passport services to Nigerians living abroad.