Travel News
Many Nigerians stranded abroad over expired passports - THE NATION
Many Nigerians living abroad, who desire to spend the Yuletide in the country with their loved one, are likely going to miss the trip this year.
No thanks to their inability to have their expired international passports renewed at the Nigeria missions in their countries of residence.
More than 1000 Nigerians are believed to be stranded in Atlanta, United States (U.S.) because of expired travel documents for their inability to renew their passports.
The shortage of passport booklets and difficulties in obtaining the National Identity Numbers (NIN) from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) also complicate the plights.
Investigations by our reporter who spoke with the parents of some of the stranded citizens showed that the situation is the same in all the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.
One of the parent said it was becoming frustrating to hear their children narrating their agonising experiences on the phone and the inability of the Nigerian government to immediately address the problem.
According to the parent, officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) conducted biometric capturing of the data of Nigerians resident in Belize, a Commonwealth country, since June this year, but the officials are yet to make the passports available to them.
“As we speak, the officials, who came from Jamaica no longer pick the calls of the Nigerian citizens let alone to reply email messages. He expressed disappointment that his daughter has been stranded in Belize and could not travel to US as planned,” the parent narrated.
Another parent expressed disgust that the situation was becoming hopeless considering the numbers of Nigerians who have been stranded in different countries around the world and the pressures being mounted on the concerned authorities to address the problems.
She regretted that most affected by the scarcity of passports are students, workers and professionals in different fields of endeavours.
However, The Nation gathered in Abuja that efforts are being made by the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service to address issues relating to Passport scarcity both at home and abroad.
But the concerned authorities are not folding their arms. They are working to resolve the delays in the processes of obtaining passports by applicants.
Many Nigerians living abroad, who desire to spend the Yuletide in the country with their loved one, are likely going to miss the trip this year.
No thanks to their inability to have their expired international passports renewed at the Nigeria missions in their countries of residence.
More than 1000 Nigerians are believed to be stranded in Atlanta, United States (U.S.) because of expired travel documents for their inability to renew their passports.
The shortage of passport booklets and difficulties in obtaining the National Identity Numbers (NIN) from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) also complicate the plights.
Investigations by our reporter who spoke with the parents of some of the stranded citizens showed that the situation is the same in all the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.
One of the parent said it was becoming frustrating to hear their children narrating their agonising experiences on the phone and the inability of the Nigerian government to immediately address the problem.
According to the parent, officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) conducted biometric capturing of the data of Nigerians resident in Belize, a Commonwealth country, since June this year, but the officials are yet to make the passports available to them.
“As we speak, the officials, who came from Jamaica no longer pick the calls of the Nigerian citizens let alone to reply email messages. He expressed disappointment that his daughter has been stranded in Belize and could not travel to US as planned,” the parent narrated.
Another parent expressed disgust that the situation was becoming hopeless considering the numbers of Nigerians who have been stranded in different countries around the world and the pressures being mounted on the concerned authorities to address the problems.
She regretted that most affected by the scarcity of passports are students, workers and professionals in different fields of endeavours.
However, The Nation gathered in Abuja that efforts are being made by the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service to address issues relating to Passport scarcity both at home and abroad.
But the concerned authorities are not folding their arms. They are working to resolve the delays in the processes of obtaining passports by applicants.