Nigerians who paid a £70 administrative charge for the ongoing passport intervention programme in the United Kingdom are set to receive £50 back from the Nigerian High Commission.
The commission said only £20 of the amount paid represents the approved administrative fee.
It announced the refund in a notice posted on its website on Friday, following concerns raised by applicants over the charges associated with the exercise.
“This is to inform all passport intervention applicants that have paid £70 admin fee that £50 will be refunded to you, £20 being the standard admin fee,” the notice read.
The refund comes days after the Federal Government addressed reports of extra payments being demanded from Nigerians seeking to participate in the special passport exercise.
On September 8, the government said applicants were only expected to pay the approved passport fees, apart from any relevant bank charges.
The Ministry of Interior also clarified that neither the ministry nor the Nigeria Immigration Service had approved any additional fees for the exercise.
The NIS later reinforced the position on September 11, stating that no extra payment was required from applicants seeking to access the intervention service.
Meanwhile, the intervention programme has been extended from its initial September 19 closing date to October 3 in London and Manchester.
The extension followed the high number of Nigerians seeking to obtain or renew their passports through the exercise.
The NIS disclosed that 1,477 Nigerians had completed enrolment within the first four days, while more than half of the passports produced had been sent out to applicants.
The Manchester centre, however, experienced technical difficulties that disrupted the process, leaving some applicants facing delays and uncertainty over the payment arrangements and procedures.