How to Change Marital Status on a Nigerian Passport

A change to marital status on a Nigerian passport sounds like one thing but is actually four overlapping cases. Each runs as a NIS re-issue, each costs the standard re-issue fee, but the document bundle differs. Identify your scenario before gathering paperwork.

If your case combines two scenarios — for example, married and now divorcing, with surname changes in both directions — apply for each re-issue in sequence rather than trying to bundle the changes. Most applicants are simply newly-married or newly-divorced; the multi-change pattern is rare.

The Nigerian e-Passport biodata page lists marital status alongside name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, and other identifiers. Valid entries are typically Single, Married, Divorced, and Widowed. The field is read by foreign border officers, embassies during visa applications, and some employers during international hires.

For most travellers most of the time, the field is incidental. It matters in three specific situations:

• Visa applications that ask for marital status to be evidenced on the passport — some family-sponsored visas, dependent visas, and spousal residency permits cite the passport's marital status field as supporting evidence.
• Bringing a foreign-national spouse to Nigeria — the Spouse of Nigerian Citizen Visa (N1A) route works more smoothly when both spouses' passports show the marriage consistently.
• Inheritance and pension claims abroad — survivor benefits sometimes reference passport marital status as one form of proof.

If none of these apply, a new marriage or a divorce does not force a passport update. Many Nigerians wait for normal renewal at expiry to refresh the marital status field.

Three triggers usually justify a re-issue rather than waiting for normal renewal.

• You are also changing your surname. The surname change and the marital status change happen in the same re-issue. Doing the surname change without updating marital status creates an inconsistency the biometric officer may flag.
• You have a sponsored-visa application coming up. Visa officers prefer to see the passport's marital status field match the application form. An out-of-date booklet often triggers requests for additional supporting evidence.
• You need to update consistency across other records. A name and status change on the passport often opens easier updates at the bank, INEC, FRSC, and other agencies that rely on the passport as primary ID.

If none of the above applies, the existing booklet remains valid until expiry. The re-issue can wait.

For some years a perception circulated that married Nigerian women routinely had to attach their husband's passport data page or NIN slip to any passport renewal. In late 2024 the Nigeria Immigration Service publicly clarified through its social channels that this is not standing policy. The agency's published position is that routine renewal as a married woman, where the surname is not changing, does not require the husband's identification.

The husband's data page or NIN slip is required in exactly one scenario: when a Nigerian woman is changing her surname to her husband's surname as part of the re-issue. That requirement, along with the marriage certificate, court affidavit, and newspaper publication, is documented on NIS guidance and most diaspora missions' instruction pages.

If a centre or mission asks for the husband's documents during a routine renewal where you are keeping your maiden surname, point them at the NIS clarification. The agency's published guidance overrides any local request.

1. 1
   Identify your scenarioMarried keeping name, married changing name, divorced reverting, divorced keeping name. The supporting bundle depends on which case applies.
2. 2
   Update the NIN first if the surname is changingNIS verifies the application against the live NIN record. A surname change has to land in NIMC before you submit the passport re-issue. See [change name on a Nigerian passport](/passport/change-name-on-nigerian-passport/) for the NIMC route.
3. 3
   Open the re-issue application on immigration.gov.ngChoose Apply for Renewal/Re-issue Passport, then select the change-of-data option and indicate marital status change in the application notes.
4. 4
   Upload the documents for your scenarioMarriage certificate or divorce decree, court affidavit and newspaper publication where the surname is changing, NPC birth certificate, updated NIN slip, current passport data page, photographs.
5. 5
   Pay the standard re-issue feeInside Nigeria: ₦100,000 (32-page 5-year) or ₦200,000 (64-page 10-year). Diaspora: NIS USD anchor plus mission admin fee. Each consulate's quoted booklet rate may differ slightly from the anchor; look up the figure on your mission's published schedule.
6. 6
   Attend the biometric appointmentBring originals of every uploaded document and the existing Nigerian passport. The officer captures biometrics where required and processes the re-issue.
7. 7
   Collect the new passport21 days from biometric enrolment under the NIS SLA. The old booklet is cancelled at collection; the new one carries the updated marital status field.

The four scenarios above overlap with the name-change route covered in change name on a Nigerian passport. Two practical distinctions.

• Pure marital status change with no name change: rare but possible. You update only the marital status field, with the marriage certificate or divorce decree as evidence. The husband's documents are not required where the surname is unchanged.
• Marital status change combined with name change: handled as a single re-issue. The court affidavit, newspaper publication, and (for marriage with surname change) the husband's data page or NIN slip all apply. NIS treats the bundle as a name change with marital status as a side effect rather than the other way round.

If your case is purely a marital status field update without a name change, this article is the canonical route. If a name change is involved, the change name on a Nigerian passport article gives the deeper walkthrough.

Diaspora missions handle marital status changes the same way as any other re-issue. The Embassy of Nigeria in Germany, Nigeria High Commission London, and US consulates all publish dedicated change-of-data routes that produce the same enhanced e-Passport with the updated field.

Two diaspora-specific notes:

• Marriage certificates from a foreign jurisdiction are usually accepted with attestation. Some missions require the certificate to be apostilled (Hague Convention countries) or notarised; check your specific mission's published rules.
• Sworn affidavits ideally come from a Nigerian High Court. Some missions accept a notarised affidavit from the host country with apostille; others require the applicant to obtain a court order during a visit to Nigeria. The Nigeria High Commission in London is the most prescriptive on this for UK-resident applicants.

The fee in local currency typically matches the NIS USD anchor at the mission's exchange rate, with administrative fees on top. Verify on your nearest mission's page before sending payment.