This article was first written in March,2020. I update it from time to time when I get new information.
I got married recently and decided to get a new passport to match my new name. Just thinking about the Nigerian passport renewal process alone almost discouraged me from doing so. However, Mark and I figured that it would do us a lot of good in the long run.
It took me about two months to complete the whole process. For many reasons, this time could be much longer or shorter. So if you are planning to change your name on your Nigerian international passport, I advise that you begin as early as you can.
Going through this article might put you off because of how cumbersome the process seems, so I have decided to put up a summary first. You can simply allocate blocks of time to each step so that you don’t get overwhelmed.
What's Covered in this Post
Overview | Nigerian Passport Renewal After Marriage…
Newly married? Here's all the info you need to change your name on your International passport and Identity card! Share on XThis is a summary of the whole process to change your name after marriage. You’ll find a detailed breakdown of each step further down in this post. If you’re looking only to renew your passport, see the Nigerian Passport Renewal Process section further down this post.
Total time will vary; For me, it took: 45 days
Get Married!
Congratulations on your wedding! Obtain a marriage certificate from the registry or any institution authorized to provide it. Laminate, scan and make photocopies of it.
Make your New Name Official
Get a court affidavit for the change of name and a newspaper publication for the same. I have highlighted the detailed steps further down this post. Laminate, scan and make photocopies.
Update your National Identity Card or Slip Details
Pay a modification fee online and go to your nearest NIMC office to update your records or register for a new one if you have not done so before.
Apply for a Change of Name
For a change of name due to marriage, you do not have to travel to Abuja. You can apply at your nearest immigration centre.
Change of Name in Nigeria – The Process
Highlighted Updates from the Comment Section…
Change of Name in Nigeria – The Process
There are a few documents you need to get out of the way before you begin. If you opt to adopt a new surname after marriage, you need to make it legal. The first step to setting this in motion is to obtain a marriage certificate. You will typically get this at the registry after your legal ceremony or at any institution authorized to issue one.
Once you have this, work on getting an affidavit for a change of name and a Newspaper publication for the same. I found it easier and more convenient to employ the services of Lawpadi, a legal information platform to help handle this phase. I paid a sum of β¦10,000 for their service at the time.
The fee covered the costs of obtaining the affidavit in court, publication in a national newspaper and the delivery of both documents to my home. The service was excellent and I felt it was good value for money.
(Lawpadi no longer offers this service. Thanks to Abiola for providing this update)
Cost of Publishing a Name Change in Nigeria
If you prefer to take a ‘DIY’ approach, you can begin by contacting the national media house of your choice. The cost to have your name changed in a national newspaper could range from β¦3,000 to β¦5,000. Most newspapers charge the latter and a few of them, like The Guardian newspaper, offer online services. To use this service, you would need to upload your marriage certificate.
Next, you would need to get a court affidavit for a change of name. At the time of this writing, I am unable to confirm what the official cost of this is. I have seen prices ranging from β¦100 to β¦2,000.
Documents Needed for a Change of Name in Nigeria
To get the affidavit and newspaper publication, I had to submit the following documents to the Lawpadi team;
- Information about my current name, new name, gender, the reason for the change, and so on
- A copy of my marriage certificate
- A means of identification showing my current name
- Passport photograph
Once you have the affidavit and newspaper publication, laminate and make photocopies of them because you’ll be needing these copies almost everywhere else.
The next document you would need is a National Identity Slip or Card. As of the time of writing this article, you cannot get a new Nigerian International passport without this. So, If you haven’t registered for one before, you should do so. But if you have, you would need to apply to modify your existing details.
Getting a National Identity Number (NIN) or Card in Nigeria
Getting a National Identity Number (NIN) or Card in Nigeria
To get a new national identity number (NIN) or card, follow the steps below;
- Fill the pre-enrolment form online. This is optional, however, it could help speed up your actual enrolment.
- After submitting your application, download and print the pre-enrolment slip.
- Go to the nearest NIMC registration centre with the slip and other supporting documents. You can find all the available centres here. You can also make inquiries at your nearest local government office.
- There, officials will enter the details of your application, take fingerprint biometrics and your photo. Be sure to crosscheck the details entered on your behalf. If it is entered wrongly, you would need to follow the process below to modify it.
- It takes 1-5 working days to get your NIN slip. This slip (and not the card) is the most important thing as it has your NIN number written on it. You can laminate it and use it as a formal means of identification.
- Read more about the process on the NIMC’s website
Documents Needed to Get a National Identity Card in Nigeria
These are the documents needed to enrol for a new National Identity Number or Card;
- Filled enrolment form or pre-enrolment slip
- A valid means of identification. This could be your international passport, driver’s license, voter’s card, etc. For a full list, see the NIMC’s website.
Cost of Getting a National Identity Card in Nigeria
The NIMC’s website says that enrolment is free. I have since found that this is not always the case. Officials in most centres will demand a fee from you. I had to pay β¦3,000 to get my first slip and β¦5,000 to get another one bearing my new name.
Having experienced crossing the Seme Border when it was full of shacks, I know there are ways to get out of paying this amount but you should know that this may result in the process becoming long and frustrating.
Changing your Name on your National Identity Slip or Card in Nigeria
To change your name on your national identity slip or card, you would need to pay a modification service fee. It costs β¦500 to change most fields, except the ‘Date of Birth’ field which costs β¦15,000. For a full list of fields that can be modified, see the NIMC’s website. For the payment process, follow the steps below;
Modification to your National Identity Slip or Card – Payment Process
- Go to www.remita.net to pay the modification service fee.
- Select ‘Bills & Purchases’ and then choose ‘Pay Billers’
- In the field that says ‘Who do you want to pay?’, type in ‘National Identity Management Commission’
- In the ‘Name of Service/Purpose’ field, select ‘Modification of any Other Field Other than DOB – Per Transaction’
- If you are updating multiple fields, you can choose βNational Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Feesβ.
- Fill in the other fields and click on ‘Submit’.
- Pay the fee with any of the available methods of payment. Keep your RRR code handy just in case you need it.
- Print out a confirmation slip to take with you to the NIMC centre.
Modification to your National Identity Slip or Card – Documents Needed
What you would need;
- Filled form – this would be given to you at the NIMC office. The NIMC says this form is free, however, officials in some centres charge β¦50 for it.
- Letter of application for the change of name. For Lagos based citizens, this should be directed to the ‘National Identity Management Commission, Alausa, Ikeja. (A template will also be provided to you)
- Sworn affidavit
- Newspaper publication
- Marriage certificate
- Confirmation of payment of modification service fee.
The process to effect the change is similar to the process of getting a new slip or card. Refer to the last 4 points in the ‘Getting a new National Identity Number or Card’ section above.
How to Change your Name on Your Nigerian International Passport
Change your Name on your Nigerian Passport after Marriage – Documents Needed
Finally, to change your name on your Nigerian International Passport, go to the Immigration office near you. If you are changing your name due to marriage, you do not have to go to Abuja to get it done. In Lagos, you can apply at the passport offices in Ikoyi or Ikeja. These are the documents you would need;
- Filled form for a change of name on passport
- Letter of application for a change of name addressed to The Consular General
- Sworn affidavit
- Newspaper publication
- Passport photograph
- Photocopy of your husband’s passport data page.
- *β¦30,000 non-refundable administrative fee (according to the Nigerian Immigration Service’s website)
- *β¦25,000 for a 5-year 32-page passport booklet; β¦35,000 for a 10-year 32-page passport booklet; β¦70,000 for a 10-year 64-page passport booklet.
* *These prices may not be accurate. As of the time of this writing, the NIS website presents multiple conflicting information. It may be best to contact your nearest Immigration office for more accurate information.
The Nigerian Passport Renewal and Name Change Process…
Once you have submitted the documents above, the next step is the biometrics capture. This may come a few days after the application for a change of name has been approved. After the approval, you will be notified to go to the immigration office for the biometrics data capture.
Mentally prepare to spend a full day at the centre, however, this could be less. It will take another few days before you receive your passport as the name change request is processed in Abuja. Note that when you get your confirmation slip after the biometrics capture, it will still carry your old name.
You will be notified when your passport is ready to be picked up. You can also track the status of your application through the NIS’ website. The last step in this process is to ‘activate’ your new passport. This process will take an hour or so (for crowded centres).
The officials will run your new passport through a scanner and confirm your identity by taking your fingerprints. And with that, the long process of changing your name on your Nigerian International passport will come to an end!
Note that these final steps also apply if you are renewing your passport for reasons outside of marriage. For example, if you’ve exhausted the pages of your passport. You would need to go to the immigration office with your old one to apply for the new one.
I hope you found this guide on the Nigerian Passport Renewal process useful. Let me know your thoughts or questions in the comment section below!
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Good evening sir, please I have a little issue with my passport I did my passport 11-02-2011, my bad was snatched 15-02-2011.. though the name and date of birth in my lost passport was different from my NIN… Now I’m going for three things lost passport, change of name and correction of date of birth. Is it possible I do it at any immigration close to me or I go to Abuja.
Hello Elohor, if you are not changing your name due to marriage, then you might need to go to Abuja. However, before you start anything, I recommend that you visit your nearest immigration office since your situation is a bit complex. You will be needing several affidavit documents for the stolen passport and the change of name too.
Thank you very much for this informative write-up. I’d like to know whether it’s the same process for changing the order of my name, because my NIN has my name correctly ordered as Surname, first name and middle name, but my passport has it as Surname, middle name, then first name. This is now a problem for me.
Hello Nnamdi, the process might be a little different as this post is specifically for change of name due to marriage. From what I’ve read so far, the online name change processes are the same but the physical immigration process may differ. It’s best to visit your closest immigration office to get more accurate and updated information.
Thank you for this detailed info. I would love to ask if state of origin was changed to your husbandβs? (For instance, wife from Ebonyi state, husband is from kogi state).
Hello, Mimmy, no, State of Origin was not changed (and ideally shouldn’t be). Just your name is updated in this scenario.
Am not in Nigeria and I need to renew my passport and change my name, I’m a Male, can it be done in the country I stay ?
Hello Ezekiel, you will need to visit your nearest Embassy or consulate for advice. Using Kenya as a reference, they advice that you visit before any online payments.
the nin i used on my passport as been suspended ..while i went for capturing i was told i have a nin before that only the previous one can be used and the suspended one can not be used again … i have used the suspended nin on my passport both carried my information except the nin number are different …please how can i used it on my passport
Hello Gabriel, in this case, it’s better to visit your nearest immigration/NIMC office for the best way to proceed.
Do i need to go to Abuja for change of date of Birth
From what I’m reading online, it seems you do not have to travel to Abuja for this, but please visit your nearest immigration office to confirm.
Thanks for the update. I want to change my name and renew my expired passport. Do I have to pay for each or it’s just a payment, cos I have started the DIY, on the portal after the change of name page, I was redirected to renewal page. I hope my new name won’t have an expired passport.
The process of changing your name gets you a new passport with a new expiry date in 5 or 10 years, depending on the option you choose.