THE CABLE
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.
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