Delays in passport renewals brought on by the closure of the Nigerian embassy in Lebanon pose serious problems for Nigerians residing there. Since 2022, there have been problems renewing passports, even though the embassy was briefly moved to Cairo during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. For many Nigerians, the inability to renew passports has resulted in deportations, job losses, and challenges preserving their legal status. Roland Aigbovbiosa, the head of the Nigerian community in Lebanon, emphasised that delays in passport renewals started to get worse in 2023.
According to the president of the Nigerian community, this is the cause of the numerous waiting documents. Nigerians with expired passports have been fired by Lebanese employers under pressure from immigration authorities, he said. The extended shutdown of the embassy was criticised by Prince Adeyinka Omotosho, another community leader, who compared it to the embassies of other nations that continued to function throughout the crisis. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delay was caused in part by the Nigerian embassy’s move to Cairo and antiquated passport processing systems.
Nigerians in Lebanon are still stuck without passports.
More so, the delays were ascribed by the Ministry of the Interior to difficulties in merging new digital systems with outdated analogue ones. Officials have promised to address the problems, but Nigerians in Lebanon are still stuck without passports, which results in lost jobs, lapsed residency permits, and few alternatives for finding a solution. Nigerians living in Lebanon are suffering greatly as a result of protracted passport renewal delays, which have been made worse by the closing of the Nigerian consulate in Beirut.
Although exact numbers on the impacted population are not easily accessible, studies suggest that the difficulties started around 2022 and have gotten worse over time. For many Nigerians living in Lebanon, the inability to renew passports has resulted in deportations, job losses, and challenges preserving their legal status. The Nigerian government has taken a number of actions in reaction to the passport issuance situation. A State of Emergency regarding the issuing of passports was announced in June 2023 by Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
The issue has strained relations between Lebanon and Nigeria.
This was done in an effort to alleviate the difficulties Nigerians were having acquiring the passport. She underlined that in order to address these problems successfully, a thorough plan of action is desperately needed. In addition, service providers collaborating with the NIS were instructed by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in September 2023 to resolve all backlogs in passport applications within two weeks. Declaring that obtaining a Nigerian passport is a right rather than a privilege, he underlined the government’s resolve to eliminate all obstacles in the process of obtaining passports and immigration paperwork.
Despite these efforts, the closure of the embassy and the backlog in passport processing still pose problems for Nigerians living in Lebanon. In addition to negatively affecting the Nigerian minority in Lebanon socioeconomically—including through loss of work and legal residency status—the issue has strained relations between Lebanon and Nigeria. There are a few suggestions put up to address the situation. Essential consular services, including as passport renewals, would be available to Nigerians in Lebanon if the embassy’s activities were resumed. They could send mobile consular staff to Lebanon in the interim.
IOM and other int’l organisations can offer more assistance.
Teams of mobile consular representatives will help with passport renewals and other necessary services. Nigerians living in Lebanon may benefit from improved assistance and protection if diplomatic relations and collaboration with Lebanese authorities are strengthened. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other international organisations can offer more resources and assistance to help the Nigerian diaspora in Lebanon deal with its problems. Nigerians in Lebanon would experience less hardship and have access to necessary consular services again if these steps were put into place.