JAPA:: UK makes over N40 billion in visa fees charges from Nigerians in just one year

The British government earned over N40 billion processing visas for Nigerian nationals between June 2023 to the same month in 2024.

According to Marc Owen, director of visa, status and information services at UK visas and immigration, at least 225,000 UK visa applications from Nigeria were processed in the period under review.

Owen spoke at the launch of Africa’s biggest UK visa application centre (VAC) in Lagos.

“In the year to June 2024, we processed more than 225k UK visas for Nigerian nationals across all categories and this new partnership demonstrates our continued commitment to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient and meet the needs of all applicants,” the British High Commission in Lagos quoted Owen as saying in a statement.

“I’m delighted to be here in person as we celebrate this important moment together with our customers and partners.”

Although Owen did not reveal the exact figures of visa applications, an analysis using the UK six-month standard visitor fee of $150 against the 225,000 Nigerians cited as the least figure, shows that the UK realised over $34 million from processing.

Using an average exchange rate of N1,200 between June 2023 and June 2024, this would amount to over N40 billion.

Visa application fees are non-refundable even if processing turns out unsuccessful.

NIGERIA RECORDED HIGH REJECTIONS

Earlier this year, data from the British government showed that Nigeria was among five countries that saw a rise in study visa rejection rates in the second half of 2023.

In Q4 2022, Nigeria saw one in 31 applications rejected, while in Q4 2023, around one in eight were declined.

Vietnam, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia also saw high visa rejection rates, albeit at smaller accruals.

India was the only country where declined application numbers trumped Nigeria’s.

The data showed that issuances to Nigerians were down by 63 percent when juxtaposed with the last three months of 2022.

The increase in rejections came amid tightened visa restrictions for immigrants in the UK.

The British government said changes to policies on dependent visas stirred negative sentiments in both countries, following tweaks to the graduate route post-study work visa.

Many Nigerians are now turning to the United States for succour.

In the 2023/2024 academic year, Nigeria was the seventh largest source of international students globally and the highest in Africa, with 20,029 enrollees in the US.

The enrolment figures for Nigeria amounted to a 13.5 percent increase from the previous year for the country.