Diaspora Nigerians with expired passport can now travel home – NIS boss

Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Services Muhammad Babandede has disclosed that diaspora Nigerians who could not travel back home due to closure of some missions abroad in line with Covid-19 compliant policy can now make onward journey back to Nigeria.

Babandede who stated this during a press chat with journalists at the service headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday said that such Nigerians holding expired passports abroad should apply to the Comptroller General of Immigration for approval and clearance before they could proceed to the airport for their onward journey to Nigeria, adding that the Minister of interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola had approved the opening of three front offices at Abuja, Kano and Lagos International Airports for the purpose of mitigating the problem.

He said that the service was working with CBN, and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to resolve the technical issues that are hampering the smooth transition of passports renewal for Nigerians who live especially in France, UK, Germany, Italy, S/Arabia and countries that have put stringent measures in place including locking down till date.

While lamenting the increase issue of fake marriages between foreigners and Nigerians ladies to evade payment for Resident Permit, the CG said that the service has concluded plans to work with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve the tax payable to government by certain categories of visa holders and resident migrants in the context of taxation of non-resident migrants and persons staying for less than 183 days in the country and earn income in Nigeria.

He further explained that visa on arrival should only be applied for by individuals and not companies who are serving as agents, adding that the newly decentralised Passport Express Processing Centre launched in Maitama, Abuja will ease the delays Nigerians face in passport issuance while creating new jobs.