Richard Montgomery, the UK High Commissioner grant to Nigeria, has stated that 300,000 additional visas have been granted to Nigerians in the “last couple of years”.
Montgomery stated this today on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily. He pointed out that Nigeria benefits significantly from the UK’s visa policy.
Recall that last month, the company launched a new Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Ikeja, Lagos, in collaboration with its new commercial partner, VFS Global. Mr Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner, stated at the launch that it was Africa’s largest. Also, Baxter stated that Nigeria remained one of the UK’s most important partners.
Baxter further stated: “In the year to June 2024, we processed more than 225,000 UK visas for Nigerian nationals across all categories.”
Today, in response to claims in some quarters that the UK’s immigration policies are harsh, British High Commissioner Richard Montgomery told Channels TV, “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 of relationship that Nigeria has with any other country.”
“The trends have been really encouraging since Brexit. Nigeria has benefited significantly from the post-Brexit migrant visa changes.
“And if you look at the number of people who are granted work visas in the UK, these people play an extremely essential role in some areas, particularly our social care sector. “So, I’d like to emphasise how important the partnership is. In my opinion, it much outweighs any other visa arrangement Nigeria has with any other single country.
The Montgomery, Nigeria accounts for approximately 10% of all visas granted by the UK in the last two years. He praised Nigerians in the UK for their contributions, calling them “incredibly important”.
