Nigerians have contributed over N68 billion to the British government through visa processing fees, data from the UK embassy has shown.
The data, supplied by Marc Owen, director of visa, status and information services at UK visas and immigration, revealed that at least 225,000 UK visa applications from Nigeria were processed in the period under review.
And since a standard UK visitor visa for six months costs $150, this means the UK realised over $34 million or N68 billion from the 225,000 Nigerian applicants.
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.”