SUCK MY BALLS

If you have got a copy of your old Nigerian passport (regardless of how old it is), you can apply for the new passport via the embassy, and then get a date for biometrics.

If you do NOT have a Nigerian passport, you would still need to apply online firstly, BUT you will need to go to the embassy with the whole lot of documentation listed on their website i.e. proof of your Nigerian roots.

They are non-judgemental at the embassy, they don't give a damn if you are legal in the UK or not. So long as you can prove to them that you are a Nigerian, you will be sorted.

claremont: If you have got a copy of your old Nigerian passport (regardless of how old it is), you can apply for the new passport via the embassy, and then get a date for biometrics.

If you do NOT have a Nigerian passport, you would still need to apply online firstly, BUT you will need to go to the embassy with the whole lot of documentation listed on their website i.e. proof of your Nigerian roots.

They are non-judgemental at the embassy, they don't give a damn if you are legal in the UK or not. So long as you can prove to them that you are a Nigerian, you will be sorted.

I was relatively young when I came here, and my guardian at the time never gave me my old Nigerian passport.

Although I wasn't born in Nigeria, I have my birth certificate, which shows the nationality of my parents as Nigerian. Will that suffice?

I mean even if all else fails can't they just lookup their passport records on their database & search for my name; and boom it will appear?

dcraigy:

I was relatively young when I came here, and my guardian at the time never gave me my old Nigerian passport.

Although I wasn't born in Nigeria, I have my birth certificate, which shows the nationality of my parents as Nigerian. Will that suffice?

I mean even if all else fails can't they just lookup their passport records on their database & search for my name; and boom it will appear?

I think their records only apply to holders of the new E-passport, and not the old MRPs; even at that, you would still need to show documentary proof that you are a Nigerian citizen. If your parents are still alive, you can tell them to send you copies of their passports.

If you were applying from Nigeria, then it's a different ball game altogether. You can take advantage of the 'Nigerian system' and get your new passport within 24 hours without showing any documents whatsoever!

BTW, how many years have you lived here?! If you have a good solicitor, you can claim permanent residency in the UK by way of long-term residence. I think the requirement is 14 years continuous stay, not too sure though.

@op
If you were born in the UK, (since you said you were not born in Nigeria), and you were also brought back (?) to the UK when you were very young, what that implies is that you were born in the UK, but your parents took you back to Nigeria, hence they had to apply for a Visa for you to bring you back, this visa would have been the length of their own, if you were then left behind or somehow did not get to go back to Nigeria after the expiration of the Visa, technically, you MIGHT be an overstayer but there are still several routes for you to regularize depending on so many things.
1. If you did not spend up to three months in Nigeria before coming back to the UK, you can claim British Nationality....just get together your Red Book, school records, evidence of where you have been staying so far and documents to show that you have been resident in UK for the first 10 years of your life continuosly without leaving for more than 90 days in a single year.
2. If you dont meet that requirement, but you were still a minor when you came back to the UK and you have been in the UK continuously since then you might still have a case depending on how old you are now.

Bleep

Please keep answers coming guys...

Guy, ring the Nigerian embassy and explain to them your predicament. They are very helpful and non-judgemental there as long as you are speaking to the right people. You might just be lucky to speak to someone who would help you by-pass the requirements. Good luck!