The all purpose National ID cards are available for Diaspora Nigerians who register in 15 approved countries, officials said.

The countries are Austria, Benin Republic, Canada, Ghana, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, United Arab Emirates United Kingdom, and United States of America (see links below).

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) expects everyone, including adults and children, to obtain the National Identity Number (NIN).

Without NIN, it will become impossible to renew national passports or carry out other transactions in Nigeria, officials say.

NIMC began diaspora enrolment in 2019 to capture Nigerians living outside the country into the National Identity Database.

Fifteen Nigerian companies were licensed to work with foreign partners to register and transmit biometric data to the national database.

If you live abroad, check below for links to centres where you can enrol to obtain Nigeria’s National ID Card:

Registration in Nigeria is free but diaspora Nigerians will be charged to enable NIMC partners “recover enrolment infrastructure and operations costs.”

NIMC said any Nigerian abroad could wait to enrol for free “whenever they travel back to Nigeria, provided they have valid passports.”

However, citizens with expired passports or those seeking new passports cannot proceed without NIN, they said.

“Where passports have expired, they must obtain their NINs as a prerequisite for renewal or to acquire new passports.”

Nigerians thrown into frenzy with NIN

Nigerians have been thrown into panic mode as public agency officials tie possession of NIN to services they owe citizens.

The Ministry of Communications has directed its Telecom regulator to bar phone lines registered without NIN identification.

In the same way, driver licences are now to be linked to NIN, as government steps up efforts to register and track its citizens.

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Check out these 15 countries where Diaspora Nigerians can register for the all purpose National ID cards. Share info with friends and living in these countries.

Author

  • Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe, a veteran journalist and message development specialist, is now a community journalism advocate and publisher of Enugu Metro. Contact him on any of the channels below.

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