Immigration Clarifies Married Women’s Passport Renewal Requirements

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has refuted claims that married Nigerian women are required to provide their husband’s passport data page or proof of identity when renewing their passports.

The clarification follows a tweet by one Ijeoma who took to her X page (formerly Twitter), on November 29.

“Why does a married Nigerian woman need to attach her husband’s passport page or proof of his identity before she can renew her passport? Is this really the new policy?” the user queried.

But the NIS, via its official X handle, stated that no such requirement exists for standard passport renewals.

The agency explained that the renewal process for all Nigerians is based on individual identity documents. The agency noted that the misinterpretations are likely from specific requirements for name changes or other unique circumstances.

The NIS further outlined specific instances where additional documents, such as a husband’s passport data page or NIN slip, may be necessary

Married women wishing to update their surnames on their passports must provide supporting documents, including their husband’s passport data page or NIN slip, said the NIS.

For change of Data (Due to Divorce), women seeking to revert to their maiden names must present a decree absolute, a newspaper publication reflecting the name change, and other supporting documents.

The post partly read, “A Nigerian female with an existing passport who intends to obtain a new passport with the new surname of her husband (upon marriage), needs to get amongst other things, the following documents: Newspaper publication of change of name due to marriage, Wife’s Passport Datapage, Marriage certificate , Husband’s passport data page/ or NIN slip
NIN Slip, Local government certificate of origin and Birth Certificate/ Declaration of Age

“For Change of Data (Due to Divorce)
Amongst other documents, a divorced woman should present in reverting to her maiden name, are: Decree Absolute, International passport Datapage, Newspaper publication to that effect,
NIN Slip, Local government of origin certificate and Birth Certificate/ Declaration of Age

“For parents wanting to obtain international passports for their children, amongst the documents required include: Consent letter countersigned by parent(s), International passport data page of parent(s), NIN Slip,
Local government certificate of origin and Birth Certificate/ Declaration of Age

“For renewal for married women who are not changing name, required documents includes: Expired international passport Datapage
NIN Slip, Local government certificate of origin and Birth Certificate/ Declaration of Age

“Of the 4 scenarios, only in two situations is a married woman required to provide the International passport data page/NIN of her husband.”

The agency stressed that the requirements for renewing a passport without a name change are straightforward and do not involve the husband’s documents.

The NIS encouraged citizens to verify application requirements through official channels, such as the NIS website, to avoid misinformation. It reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a seamless passport acquisition process while adhering to defined application standards.

It urged Nigerians to “check the FAQs/SLA Tabs on immigration.gov.ng for guidance.”

Immigration Clarifies Married Women’s Passport Renewal Requirements is first published on The Whistler Newspaper