The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said that their online payment system for passport applications is having problems.
Many Nigerians have had trouble trying to complete their passport applications online because of this.
On August 23, 2024, the NIS put out a message called “Technical Glitches with Online Payment Platform.” They said sorry for the issues and promised to fix them soon.
The full message says: “Technical hitches with online payment platform.
“We apologise for the downtime being experienced with online applications on our Passport Service windows.
“The Service is assuring the public that within the shortest possible time, seamless service will be restored. All inconveniences this may have caused are highly regretted.
“Please bear with us.”
These problems happened just days after the NIS said the cost of passports would go up on September 1, 2024.
Here are the new prices: a 32-page passport that lasts five years will now cost N50,000 instead of N35,000. If you want a 64-page passport that lasts ten years, it will cost N100,000, up from N70,000.
What you should know
From looking at social media, Newslodge found that many people are having big issues with the NIS’s online application system for passports.
Some of the main problems are: verifying their National Identification Number (NIN) is hard because the servers at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) aren’t working well. Also, many appointment dates are changed to later times, causing more problems.
These issues are very frustrating for people who need to travel urgently. This is worse because the passport fees are going up on September 1, 2024.
Because of the fee increase, a lot of people are rushing to apply for passports before the new prices start.
The mix of technical problems and the upcoming fee increase is making people very anxious. Many believe the NIS should have been better prepared for this rush and improved their online systems.
As the deadline gets closer, applicants are asking the NIS to fix these problems quickly. The NIS has admitted there are issues, but they haven’t given a clear date for when everything will be fixed, making many Nigerians upset and unsure what to do.