The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has on behalf of the Federal Government, launched the Electronic Temporary Passport to cater for Nigerians desirous of returning home but whose national passport is not available.
The four-page document is for the one-way return journey to Nigeria usually on emergencies.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Sunday James, on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
It states that an e-temporary passport replaces the paper-type emergency travel certificate hitherto issued by Nigerians in Diaspora desirous of returning home but don’t have a regular standard passport. It also states that the electronic temporary passport has all the features of the standard passport but serves only one.
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Speaking at the event, the Minister stated that the passport will address the concerns of Nigerians abroad who have an urgent need to return home as well as those who are being returned home by their host countries but don’t have a valid passport.
He pointed out that the Temporary Passport is ICAO compliant and is valid for only 30 days before the date of travel and it is not in any way a replacement for the Nigerian Passport as it will only serve a temporary purpose in the case of loss or misplacement of the Nigerian Passport by a Nigerian abroad,” the statement said.
The Controller General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, in his remark noted that the introduction of the document is another way of engaging with the Diaspora population with a view to addressing their emergency travel needs stressing that the document can be issued to applicants irrespective of age.
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He revealed that the replaced Emergency Travel Certificate was a huge security threat to Nigeria and the global community because it was an ordinary paper devoid of the necessary security features of a travel document.
Babandede added that the temporary Passport replacing it is a catalyst to Nigeria’s desire for effective identity management as it has a chip and surface personalization which is an enhancement of the current Electronic Passport Management System (EPMS).
Minister of Interior, @raufaregbesola launches "e-Temporary Passport" document for Nigerians.The four-page travel document is for one-way return journey to Nigeria usually on emergencies. pic.twitter.com/GKFterFEVu
— Nigeria Immigration Service (@nigimmigration) March 9, 2021