The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced a significant increase in the cost of travel passports, raising fees for the 32-page five-year and 64-page 10-year booklets.

In a statement on Thursday, NIS spokesperson A.S. Akinlabi said the revised charges will take effect from 1 September 2025. The new rates represent an almost 100 per cent increase from the current fees.

“The review, which only affects passport applications made within Nigeria, now sets the fee for a 32-page passport with five-year validity at ₦100,000 and a 64-page passport with 10-year validity at ₦200,000. Passport application fees for Nigerians in the diaspora remain unchanged at $150 for the 32-page option and $230 for the 64-page booklet,” Akinlabi said.

The development comes amid Nigeria’s worsening unemployment crisis and the mass emigration of its youthful population — a trend popularly known as Japa. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing numbers of Nigerians, particularly young professionals and the middle class, have been relocating to destinations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and various European countries in search of better opportunities.

Remittances from the Nigerian diaspora remain a crucial lifeline for the economy, contributing over $20 billion annually, according to World Bank data for 2023.

However, outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has repeatedly lamented the Japa trend, describing it as a huge loss to Nigeria and the continent. “We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35,” he said, warning that Africa risks turning its demographic advantage into “somebody else’s problem” by failing to invest in its youth.

“I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe, America, Canada, Japan or China,” Adesina argued. “It must lie in Africa — growing robustly, creating quality jobs and unlocking opportunities for our youth.”