Nigerians in Qatar are facing threats of deportation and job losses over the unavailability of passport booklets at the Nigerian embassy in Doha.
This was disclosed in a report by Doha News, after an interview with the former Qatar branch President of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation’s (NIDO), Victor Ikoli on Friday.
He warned that over 130 passports were yet to be issued, thereby exposing the individuals to job termination and deportation if their residence cards were invalid
What Ikoli is saying about the unavailability of passports
He stated that the “challenges of renewal and procurement of passports” faced by the Nigerian diaspora in Qatar is an urgent matter and urged the Nigerian government to weigh in on the issue.
While expressing frustrations with the delay over the passport machines, he said that employers sponsoring the Nigerian nationals are unable to help when their travel documents expire.
He said, “the most pressing issue throughout my four-year tenure in office was the renewal and issuance of Nigerian passports”.
He revealed that the embassy issued 1,500 passport applications for renewal including first-time applicants amongst which were new-borns.
Ikoli said, “However, over 130 passports were yet to be issued, thereby exposing the individuals to job termination and deportation if their residence cards were invalid, and possibly bank account closure among others,” as Nigerians have lost their jobs due to the lack of pasports.
“I was personally involved in two significant cases, [where] one was terminated and his resident card could not be renewed by his company, because his passport had expired,”
He said the embassy has issued support letters to be used as a backup document to be presented to the Qatari immigration office.
What you should know
- Recall Nairametrics reported last year that The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Europe (NIDO-Europe), Italy Chapter, revealed that about 1.5 million out of its 3 million registered members in Italy are affected by the scarcity of Nigerian passports.
- The Federal Government launched an enhanced e-passport, at the Nigerian High Commission in London, United Kingdom. which they say will improve the passport application process for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
What is the government doing about this critical challenge?
Federal Government owes this category of citizens a duty of care to resolve the problem expeditiously.