The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says foreigners residing or employed in Nigeria for less than two years are exempted from the mandatory national identification number (NIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise.
The directive is contained in the NCC revised national
identity policy for SIM card registration released on May 11, 2021.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in
January 2021 announced that all foreigners residing in Nigeria are required to
participate in the NIN-SIM exercise.
NIMC advised all expatriates resident in Nigeria to visit
its nearest enrollment centre to enroll and obtain their NIN in order to
complete their NIN-SIM integration.
“Foreigners validly
transiting through Nigeria or are employed in or reside in Nigeria for less
than 24 months are exempted from the mandatory use of NIN requirement,” part of
the document read.
“Persons in this category need to provide justification that
they will be residing in Nigeria for less than 2 years.
“Foreigners with Visitor’s visas (with visa less than 2
years) do not require a NIN. Operators will capture the following on their
records: International passport bio-data page; and Visa page.
“Those staying less
than 2 years will require the following for registration of their personal
telephone lines: International passport bio-data page; and Letter from embassy
indicating that their stay is for less than 2 years.”
The NCC asked telecommunications companies to block SIM
cards not registered with NIN within 14 days in December 2020.
However, the NIN-SIM linkage deadline has been extended five
times since the initial announcement.
It was extended to January 19, then moved to February 9,
April 6, May 6, and now June 30.
The regulatory body said the extension is part of the
federal government’s effort to make it easier for citizens and residents to
obtain the NIN and advised that it is important to take advantage of the
extension.
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