The federal government of Nigeria has secured a court order to freeze the account of all those that have bank accounts in Nigeria with no associated BVN. You may recall that the federal government gave a directive two years ago urging all Nigerians to identify themselves with the newly instituted process called BVN. BVN means Bank Verification Number. The BVN is managed by VFS Global Services in partnership with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).
VFS Global Services setup a number of satellite locations to reach as many Nigerians abroad as possible.
With this new court order shown below, You stand to lose your money if you have not processed your identification.
In Toronto area, a couple of years back, the VFS office was located at the address of VFS Canada office :unit 701-1235 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5R 3K4. We are unable to verify if the office has moved.
To Process a BVN, you will need to provide the following:
- BVN Enrolment form which can be downloaded from here Or at our center.
- Appointment is MANDATORY before visiting the enrollment center Please schedule your appointment by visiting the Book you Appointment link on the website.
- Valid ID: ( please carry any one of the below ) –
- International Passport
- National ID card
- Driver’s license
- Any other valid means of identification
- One recent passport photograph
- Enrolment fee. See details under application service fees
However, BVN is done only once. According to to VFS website: Please do not book an appointment if you have previously enrolled for BVN in Nigeria or overseas as new Bank Verification Number will not be generated and fees will not be refunded. You need to contact your bank or enrolment center where you previously applied to obtain the BVN.
Multiple appointments booked by the same applicant will be cancelled without prior notice.
