NAIRAMETRICS
Jonny Baxter, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, shared with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the United Kingdom issued approximately 132,000 visas to Nigerians during the first half of 2023.
Baxter disclosed this information during an interview with NAN in Lagos recently.
However, he was unable to provide immediate statistics regarding the total number of visa applications received from Nigerians during the first half of the year.
He stated:
- “In the first half of this year, we approved around 132,000 visas, and those are all sorts of visas which include visit, work and study visas.
- “If you think about Nigeria’s population, relative to the world, that’s actually a higher proportion of Nigerians taking up those visas and coming to the UK which I view is a good thing.
- “The UK has a huge number of Nigerian students in the country, and in terms of foreign students in the UK, Nigeria is second only to India.
- “We welcome and value the many Nigerians that we have coming to the UK to study or settle, as long as they are coming through legal routes, and it is important that the country’s rules are followed and respected,”
UK’s policy change in students bringing dependents into the UK
The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos reiterated that changes in the rules regarding students bringing dependents were driven by international challenges.
He noted, “In 2019, Nigerian students going to the UK brought in 1,500 dependents.
By 2022/2023, that number has risen to 52,000 dependents, that’s a massive increase.
