e-passport facility for Nigerians in Doha soon

DOHA NIGERIAN expatriates in Qatar could acquire electronic passports in Doha itself in mid-September.

However, the opportunity to get the new passport in Doha will be available for a limited period of just three days.

Thereafter, it can be obtained only from the Nigerian embassy in the UAE.
The initiative for this comes from the Nigerian embassy in the UAE and the Nigerians in Diaspora (NIDO Qatar).

OJ Millar, president of NIDOQatar said, “As the December 31, 2010 deadline for phasing out the old machine readable passport (MRP) approaches, all hands must be on deck to ensure that all e l i g i b l e Nigerians, outside the country who wish to have the chip-based e-passports are issued the same.” “As a measure of our commitment and diligence in serving the community, we have liaised with the Nigerian Embassy in the UAE for a three-day exercise to issue the epassport to residents who have not acquired theirs saving them the trouble of travelling to Abuja or Lagos for that purpose,” he said.

December 31, is the deadline set by the Federal Government of Nigeria after which (from January 1, 2011) only those Nigerians who hold e-passport would be allowed to enter or go out of Nigeria.

In order to check the growing cases of forgery, duplication, identity theft and other related crimes, which continue to dent the country’s image, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), in 2007, introduced the e-passport.

OJ Millar also pointed to the implication that if you have residential status, you need a new passport, given that travelling with your old passport with a Qatar ID to Nigeria automatically nullifies it if it is not embedded in the e-passport.” The harmonised ECOWAS smart electronic passport issued by the Nigerian Immigrations Service is powered by biometric technology in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) specifications for international travels.

The e-passport is supported by a powerful data base that ensures verification of data claims from any point of entry or departure; the traveller’s identity can be ascertained and any ambiguity arising from identity problems addressed.

Nigeria is the first country in Africa to acquire the e-passport technology and among the first five nations of the world to adopt the biometric technology to the delight of International Migration Experts and security agents worldwide.

Welcoming the move for issuing of e-passport at Doha, Frank Idozie, a Nigerian resident said, “I’m happy with the idea of getting my e-passport here without having to travel all the way to Abuja.

It will save me not only the pain of a long journey to the country and back, but also lots of money.” “This is a welcome development and we appreciate the efforts of government.

I enjoin Nigerians in Diaspora to sustain the enlightenment campaign so that everybody gets the new passport before the deadline expires,” said Florence Ijachie, a resident.