Replacing a lost passport is now made simple if the person who lost the passport is determined to pursue it personally.

We at facts36.com are here to guide you step by step on the process of how to replace a lost passport in Nigeria and Abroad or reissue it without a hitch.

INFORMATION NEEDED ON HOW TO REPLACE A LOST PASSPORT IN NIGERIA AND ABROAD

The following are the information you have to provide in order to start the process:

SUBMIT ORIGINAL POLICE REPORT: The first realistic step is to report the loss to the Police Station in the area you lost the passport, (locally or internationally) and obtain a police report.
OBTAIN A LOSS CASE FORM: Get a loss case form and fill in your details.
OBTAIN A COURT AFFIDAVIT: Go to a high court, (preferably a federal high court) to obtain a Court Affidavit of loss of passport.
Attach two recently acquired passport-sized photographs of any background.
Attach the information or data page of the passport (provided you have it) to facilitate the replacement procedure.

STILL ON HOW TO REPLACE A LOST PASSPORT IN NIGERIA

When filling the form you must indicate the following facts:

The place you lost the passport.
The date the passport was lost.
The passport office where the lost passport was issued.
The date the lost passport was issued.
The measures you’ve taken in recovering the lost passport, such as police report, court affidavit, and if you have placed an advert in a local newspaper reporting the case.

Present the form and the documents to your preferred Passport Office and

Make a payment of a non-refundable administrative charge (the amount is not fixed we were told) for the processing of your lost passport.
The passport office will attach the payment acknowledgement slip to your file and forward it to the office of the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Abuja.

How To Replace A Lost Passport In Nigeria

The next step is to wait for the approval.

After receiving approval the passport office will ask you to:

Apply for reissue of lost passport
Make an online payment of a Standard Nigeria Passport. (Please find out the current official price and pay accordingly)
After the payment is confirmed online, and the acknowledgement payment slip is obtained, you will be directed to go for image acquisition, thumbprint and sign your signature electronically.
You will wait for a few days only, for your replaced passport to be issued out to you.
Please note that the quick issuance of your passport depends on the particular passport office you filed in your application

HOW TO REPLACE A LOST PASSPORT ABROAD

If you are abroad and your passport is lost, regardless of your decision on whether to process another one or not, the foremost thing to do is to:

Ask for the nearest Police Station and present a report of the loss of your passport.
Obtain a police report.
Visit the Nigeria Embassy or Consulate in that country.
Show or present any evidence to the embassy official to prove your Nigerian nationality.
If you have a copy of the information, the data page or the passport number, present it, this will facilitate the processing.

If you intend to process the passport at the embassy you will do the following :

Fill in a passport loss case form online.
Pay the passport processing fee online, and present the acknowledgement slip.
Present two passport sized photographs.
Attach the photocopy of your identity card or residence card (if any)

Please before placing in your application, note that it will take some time before they will call you for acquisition, therefore, allows enough time for the processing, however, if you would not be able to stay longer, better come home with an Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) and complete the processing in Nigeria.

STILL ON HOW TO REPLACE A LOST PASSPORT IN NIGERIA AND ABROAD

The case of reissue of lost passports used to be complicated, frustrating and time-consuming which only the Immigration Service headquarters can tackle, due to security implications and importantly to guide against multiple acquisitions. However, recently the Federal government decentralized the issuance of lost passports and removed the administrative bottlenecks, thereby making it simple in a way, because state passport offices are empowered to issue lost passports.
Recently the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service was quoted saying that “Approval for replacement of lost passports shall henceforth be given by state comptrollers after online vetting and processing of application at the Passport Division in the Service headquarters ”

WHY THE CASE OF LOST PASSPORTS ARE RAMPED

Since the introduction of electronic passports in Nigeria, the case of lost passports is on the high side, that it wouldn’t be out-of-place to examine briefly why holders are missing the documents they acquired with a lot of effort. And the replacement of which is not easy to obtain.

Initially, immigration authorities were feeling very reluctant in treating the case of lost passports because of the following reasons:

Security implications: If you rushed in reissuing a reported loss case, much later if the holder recovered the passport, hardly will an average Nigerian return it for cancellation, thereby allows for double passport possessions.
Not all reported lost case is genuine: Some passport holders deliberately hide or damaged their passports often due to visa rejection or repatriation or deportation. Perhaps the document was marked by a certain immigration authority or embassy and the holder believed holding such a passport may be a disadvantage, therefore, declared the passport was lost to obtain a new one.

These are common types of lost possibilities:

1. Genuine loss: This type of loss could be further categorized as, thefts or arm robbery, bag snagging or stealing, house burgled, fire on motor accidents. Outright misplacement.

Recently a lady senior civil servant obtained a passport for her little kid. Thereafter she went to obtain a United States Visa for the kid. Strangely, she misplaced the passport and declared it lost. She went to the passport office and processed another one. However, a few days before her travel the first one was found. She returned to the passport office to inform them and the passport was cancelled.

2. NEGLIGENCE OR MISHANDLING
Some Nigerians who acquired the nationality of another country mostly used their Nigeria passport as a means of entering and departing Nigeria only. They are usually very careless in the handling of Nigeria passports, therefore placing them anywhere and anyhow, subject to mishandling.

Precisely in 2013, a Nigerian man came from the United States. He later approached a passport office for the reissue of a Nigeria passport for himself, his wife and three children. They were given accordingly.
Four days later he returned to the passport office calming someone stole their 5 passports. He was asked, where? And if the thief also steal their US passport? He said, he dropped the new passports at home but always walkabout with the US passports, apparently, he values the US passports more than any other documents. In the end, he was directed to the Immigration Service headquarters in Abuja, to file an application for loss of a passport.

Related:

How To Replace A Lost Passport In Nigeria & Abroad