The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) earned N35.7bn from passport fees, residence permit, extension of visitors pass, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) address verification and non-refundable passport admin in 2017.
The service also earned $27.3m as charges from visa and passport fees at foreign missions worldwide.
A report also disclosed that the 2017 revenue was about N2billion lower than what it earned in the previous year. The service had earned N37.4bn in 2016.
The breakdown of the 2017 earning showed that NIS made N13.1bn as passport revenue, ECOWAS address verification N65.2m, non-refundable revenue for operations, N169.9m, address verification, N1.7bn, CERPAC revenue, N19bn, extension of visitors pass, N1.4bn and other revenues, N20.2m.
Meanwhile in 2016, the service made N13.3bn from passport revenue, ECOWAS address verification, N48.2m, N169.5m from non-refundable Revenue for Operations, N.3bn from address verification, N19.9m from CERPAC revenue and N1.2bn from extension of visitors pass (e-PASS). In all the service earned N37.4bn in the previous year.
Besides, within the year under review, at least 1,344,318 Nigerians departed the country to various countries of the world.
The departure indicated that the numbers of those who departed the country increased by 11.11 per cent when compared to 2016 figure, which was 1,209,897 persons.
The report said that the search for greener pastures, mainly by teeming youths of the country as well as other factors such as, education, pilgrimage, medical tourisms, contributed to the increment.
Also, the number of foreigners who departed Nigeria within the period under review were 568,855 representing 16.8 per cent higher than 2016 record of four 478,413.
In addition, in 2017, a total of 16,387 Nigerians were deported from different countries across the globe.
Out of this number, 5,908 were returned from Libya of which 3,100 were males, while 2600 were females and 208 minors were minors.
Also, another 3,836 Nigerians were deported from Saudi Arabia, which comprised 395 males, 2,331 females and 110 minors.
Deportees from other countries aside the aforementioned accounted for 6,643 comprising 3,939 males and 2,794 females with South Africa, Austria and Italy being the top three countries with 189, 171 and 158 Nigerian deportees respectively.
In 2017, the service recorded a total of 3,715,268 international travellers movement across the various recognised Nigerian border control posts.
The 2017 number increased with a margin of 6.7 per cent when compared to 2016 record, which had 3,482,125 persons.
Out of this figure, 1,802,095 travellers of both Nigerian and foreign nationals arrived, while 1,913,173) travellers departed through various recognised ports.
However, 70 per cent of the figure was air travellers across the five international airports; Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano while land borders recorded 25 per cent of the traffic and sea boarder had just five per cent within the period.
According to the report, 31,672 Nigerians were denied departure by the service, with over 70 per cent of them from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos while 2,267 Nigerians were refused entry into foreign countries around the world.
Also, the service refused entry for 18,543 foreigners who had attempted to come into the country without required papers. Again, most of them were through the MMIA.
Within the same period, NIS repatriated 2,646 foreigners while it also experienced 66 stowaway incidents.
The report also revealed that a total of 720,958 different types of passport applications were received and processed across the 42 Local Passport offices. Out of this figure, 127,882 applications were made by minors of age 0 to 17 years, 544,473 by adults of age 18 to 59 years and 48,603 by senior citizens of age 60 and above.
The report added: “There was a sharp decline in the number of passport applications in the year under review compared with 2016, which had a total passport application of 3,684,288. The reduction in passport application in the year under review may be as a result of scarcity of passport booklets and economic downturn in the country.
“The figure above indicates that adults of age 18-60 are the most seekers of Nigerian passport with 75.5 per cent of total passport applications received across passport offices in 2017. Senior citizens have the least application of 6.74 per cent of the total application. This is also a reflection of our demographic distribution, which has the youth occupying a dominant position.”
