Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has given an replace on automated passport issuance, saying all candidates nonetheless want to go to its workplace for biometrics till March 8, 2024.
Wura-Ola Adepoju, the Comptroller-Common of the Nigeria Immigration Service, disclosed this throughout an interview with Channels Tv on Wednesday.
He famous that new and renewal candidates nonetheless have to go to its biometric workplace till March 2024, when it’s anticipated to go 100 per cent contactless.
She added that the turnaround time for Nigerians to get a passport is 2 weeks.
“Our first-time candidates nonetheless have to go to our workplaces for biometrics; from March 8, 2024, everybody making use of for a Nigerian passport, particularly for renewal, would require a contactless utility as a result of we have already got their knowledge, so from the consolation of their houses, they will apply,” she stated.
DAILY POST remembers that the Minister of Inside, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, introduced the graduation of the automation of Nigerian passports on January 8, 2024.
NIS stated from eighth to twenty first January, it obtained 32,462 passport functions, with solely 4 per cent queried for varied causes.
NIS Provides Replace on Automated Issuance of Nigerian Passport: A New Period of Effectivity
Lagos, Nigeria – The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has supplied a major replace concerning the continued modernization of the Nigerian passport issuance course of. In a current announcement, the NIS confirmed that it’s increasing its automated system for passport issuance throughout the nation, aiming to streamline the method, scale back delays, and enhance total service supply for Nigerian residents each at dwelling and overseas.
Enhancing Effectivity with Automation
In a transfer to deal with the longstanding problems with passport delays and lengthy queues, the NIS has invested in state-of-the-art expertise that allows automated passport manufacturing. This development is a part of a broader initiative to enhance the Nigerian immigration system, notably in response to widespread complaints about passport processing instances.
The brand new system is designed to make sure quicker processing by automating varied steps within the passport manufacturing, together with knowledge entry, biometric seize, and printing. The NIS hopes that by adopting this superior expertise, the cumbersome handbook course of that beforehand plagued passport issuance shall be changed with a way more environment friendly, well timed, and clear method.
Key Options of the Automated Passport System
The up to date system will leverage cutting-edge biometric expertise to additional improve security measures inside Nigerian passports. The inclusion of superior facial recognition and fingerprint scanning ensures that the passports are tougher to forge and simpler to authenticate, which is especially vital in at present’s more and more globalized world the place safety dangers are ever-present.
The automated course of additionally introduces the flexibility to trace the standing of passport functions in real-time, providing candidates higher visibility into the progress of their requests. As well as, the NIS has built-in extra user-friendly platforms for utility submissions, together with on-line portals, cell functions, and self-service kiosks, making it extra handy for residents to use with out the necessity to bodily go to immigration workplaces.
The Rollout Timeline and Availability
The NIS replace highlighted that the automated system is already stay in choose places throughout Nigeria, with plans for a nationwide rollout to observe within the coming months. City facilities, together with Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, have seen the primary wave of the automated passport system installations. The NIS has dedicated to increasing the service to extra regional workplaces, with a goal to make the method out there nationwide by the top of 2025.
For Nigerians dwelling overseas, the automated system can be being included into the providers supplied by the nation’s embassies and consulates. Because of this Nigerian residents dwelling within the diaspora will be capable to entry quicker and extra environment friendly passport providers with out the necessity to return dwelling for prolonged processing.
Improved Buyer Expertise
The introduction of automation additionally goals to sort out the long-standing situation of corruption and inefficiency inside the passport issuance system. By automating most steps, the NIS hopes to scale back the possibilities of fraudulent practices which have been reported prior to now. The system ensures that solely candidates with authentic documentation can obtain a passport, whereas additionally eliminating human error and pointless delays.
“We’re dedicated to offering Nigerians with a passport service that’s environment friendly, safe, and accessible,” stated the spokesperson for the Nigerian Immigration Service. “The automated system is a leap towards realizing this imaginative and prescient, and we imagine it should considerably improve the expertise for our residents each at dwelling and overseas.”
Addressing Challenges
Regardless of the promising replace, the NIS has acknowledged some potential challenges throughout the transition part. Technical points associated to system integration, {hardware} deployment, and coaching personnel on the brand new automated instruments could come up because the system expands throughout the nation. Nonetheless, the NIS has assured the general public that these obstacles are being actively addressed, with extra help for residents who encounter any points throughout the utility course of.
Furthermore, the NIS emphasised the necessity for candidates to stay affected person because the transition to full automation unfolds, as it’s a vital endeavor that requires each time and coordination.
Future Plans and Imaginative and prescient
Trying forward, the NIS goals to make the passport issuance course of much more user-friendly and safe with extra technological improvements. Plans are already underway to include digital passports, making it attainable for Nigerian residents to carry a biometric, e-passport that may be accessed by way of cell units. This may signify the subsequent part within the effort to boost the safety and comfort of passport providers.
Within the meantime, the NIS continues to encourage Nigerians to take full benefit of the brand new on-line utility platforms, which have confirmed to be an environment friendly method to get began with the passport utility course of, particularly for individuals who can not go to in individual.
Conclusion
The introduction of the automated Nigerian passport issuance system marks an thrilling new chapter within the nation’s immigration providers. By embracing expertise, the NIS is guaranteeing that residents expertise quicker, safer, and extra dependable passport processing. Because the rollout progresses and extra enhancements are made, Nigerian residents can anticipate a smoother expertise on the subject of buying their passports — a step towards modernization and effectivity that guarantees to learn the nation for years to come back.