Richard Montgomery, the British high commissioner to Nigeria, says the United Kingdom’s visa policies are favourable towards Nigerians.
Montgomery said the evidence of the positive relationship is evident in the “large” numbers of approved visas to Nigerians.
According to the high commissioner, around 300,000 new visas were granted to Nigerians in the last few years.
The British envoy who did not specify the time frame spoke on Monday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Responding to a question on the restrictions placed on certain UK visas, a development many have described as harsh, the high commissioner said the trends for Nigeria have been positive.
“I have to contest this picture because the UK in the last couple of years has granted around 300,000 new visas to Nigerians which far exceeds any other visa relationship which Nigeria has with any other country,” Montgomery said.
“The trends have been really positive. Nigeria has been a major beneficiary of the post-Brexit migration visa rules.
“And if you look at, say, the number of people getting work visas in the UK, these people play an incredibly important role in certain sectors, particularly our social care sector, the number of people getting work visas to go to the UK has gone from something like 10(thousand) to 20,000, six, seven years ago, to 80 (thousand), 90,000 a year in the last two years, last year and this year.
“Now, we have 145,000 visit visas already approved this year, similar to last year. Student numbers are down. We had around over 100,000 last academic year. The initial figures suggest they’re around 70,000 this year.
“So student numbers, I admit, are down, but I think everybody agrees that it’s a huge relationship. There’s a lot of positivity in it.
“If you apply with the right documentation and the right evidence, the approval rate is very high. Student visas, it’s 75 percent I think, sorry, 97 percent. Work visas, if you’ve got the right documentation and the job lined up again, very high.
“So I would like to emphasize how huge the relationship is, it outstrips any other visa relationship that Nigeria has with any other single country in my understanding.”
Montgomery who is also the UK permanent representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) added that Nigeria accounts for about 10 percent of visas granted by the UK in the last two years.
