Nigerians will start paying a new fee of N1,000 for National Identity Number (NIN) integration and verification, effective April 1st, 2023.

Freelanews reports that the development follows an agreement reached by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to improve the quality of service, accuracy, and speed of passport services through the timely verification of the NIN.

In a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, on Monday, the Commission said the new arrangement is in furtherance of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy’s directive to streamline passport application, renewal, and issuance processes.

With this development, a NIN Verification fee would be charged for each Nigerian passport application for this service.

According to Adegoke, every Nigerian seeking NIN verification will be expected to pay a verification fee of N1000; African countries $3.00 (organization or its equivalent in other currencies) and other countries $10.00 (or its equivalent in other countries) NIMC and NIS have agreed on a revised applicant journey that will significantly improve the speed of passport issuance/re-issuance and reduce the traffic visiting the NIS office(s).

The statement reads in part: “The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) wishes to inform the general public that it has devised and agreed on a framework with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to significantly improve the quality of service, accuracy, and speed of passport services through the timely verification of the National Identification Number (NIN).

“This new arrangement is in furtherance of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy’s directive to streamline passport application, renewal, and issuance processes.