UK Opens Africa’s Biggest Visa Application Centre in Lagos

The United Kingdom’s biggest Visa Application Centre in Africa has been opened in Lagos, Nigeria through the UK’s new commercial partner – VFS Global.

A statement on Wednesday by the British High Commission said that residents of Nigeria travelling to the UK can now book appointments to submit their visa applications through VFS Global’s new state-of-the-art Visa Application Centres (VAC) located in Abuja, Ikeja (Lagos) and Victoria Island (Lagos) which have commenced operations since19 November.

Commenting at the launch of the new UK Visa Application Centre on Wednesday in Ikeja, Lagos, British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Jonny Baxter, said: “I am delighted to witness the opening of this, the largest visa application centre in Africa. Nigeria remains one of the UK’s most important partners, and we hope that VFS deliver ever improving services for those applying for visas to the UK.”

Director of Visa, Status and Information Services at UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), Mr. Marc Owen, said: “The opening of our new VAC in Ikeja marks an exciting milestone for UKVI and VFS Global in the provision of a world-class UK visa service here in Nigeria and elsewhere across Africa. 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.”

Head-Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, Mr. Alok Singhal added that: “We are excited to embark on this new journey with UK Visas and Immigration here in Nigeria. We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003 and look forward to now bringing travellers from Nigeria our best-in-class services.”

The UK is a popular destination for travellers across Africa, with Nigeria being among the highest nationalities by volume for UK visit visas, accounting for 5% of the global total. In the African region, VFS Global will provide Visa Application Centres for the UK in 31 countries.

According to the statement, UK visa customers can now choose from optional services offered by VFS Global, to provide enhanced comfort and convenience. These include document upload assistance, Prime Time for application submission outside of business hours, SMS notifications, document checking service, and courier return of the passport once a decision has been made. VFS Global’s Keep My Passport While Applying service allows customers to keep their passports once their application is submitted and biometrics have been enrolled. Customer will only need to re-submit their passport when a decision is reached.

The statement added that: “Customers in Abuja can also submit their UK visa applications from the comfort and safety of their home, office, or any other preferred location with our On Demand Mobile Visa service. In addition, their Premium Lounge service offers a personalised submission experience with dedicated staff members.

“These services are completely optional and have no bearing on the processing timeline and outcomes of visa applications.

“As a partner to the UK Visas and Immigration since 2003, VFS Global offered visa services in 58 countries before the new contract and has now been awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide.”

Michael Olugbode

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