KEY POINTS
- The UK plans to tighten visa regulations for citizens of Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka due to rising overstays and asylum claims.
- Nigerian applicants have already faced stricter rules (e.g., bans on student dependents), leading to a 63% drop in visas issued and soaring rejection rates.
- African analysts urge domestic economic reforms to reduce emigration, while critics condemn non-refundable visa fees as exploitative.
The United Kingdom is reportedly set to implement stricter visa controls for citizens of Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, citing increasing trends of visa overstays and subsequent asylum applications.
According to The Cable, the UK Home Office is preparing a White Paper detailing broad immigration reforms aimed at tightening loopholes that allow foreign nationals to abuse the system.
A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the forthcoming measures, explaining that intelligence is being built to identify individuals more likely to exploit visa categories for long-term stay. “To tackle abuse by foreign nationals who arrive on work and study visas and go on to claim asylum, we are building intelligence on the profile of these individuals to identify them earlier and faster,” the official said.
While the official policy paper is due later in May, early reports suggest that the targeted nations are being scrutinized for higher rates of overstays, followed by successful asylum requests, which grant permanent residency.
“We keep the visa system under constant review and where we detect trends, which may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action,” the spokesperson added. The government’s goal is to “restore order” to what it calls a “broken immigration system.”
Tighter controls follow previous Visa crackdowns
Nigerians in particular have faced increasingly restrictive visa rules in the past two years, particularly under the administration of former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
These included bans on dependents of international students and tighter restrictions on post-study work rights. As a result, applications from Nigerian students dropped sharply.
Visa rejection rates have also surged. Data from a 2024 report showed that the rejection rate for Nigerian applicants rose from 1 in 31 applications in late 2022 to 1 in 8 by the end of 2023. That contributed to a 63% decline in visas issued to Nigerians.
In parallel, the British government earned over ₦40 billion from Nigerian visa applications between mid-2023 and mid-2024, despite the high number of rejections. The combination of rising financial costs and dwindling approvals has triggered concern among Nigerian families and students, many of whom now view the process as exploitative.
The United States, once a popular alternative for Nigerian students and professionals, has also introduced stricter visa screening under current policies, further narrowing migration options for West African citizens.
Criticism and call for local investment
African economists and development advocates have responded to the UK’s shifting stance with renewed calls for African nations to address the root causes of mass emigration. “The message is clear,” one Lagos-based analyst noted. “The West is tightening its borders. The solution lies not in chasing greener pastures abroad, but in fixing economic and governance systems at home.”
There’s also growing criticism of how Western countries, particularly the UK, continue to benefit financially from non-refundable visa fees — often paid by hopeful applicants who are ultimately denied entry.
The UK Home Office has reiterated that the forthcoming immigration White Paper will offer a full picture of reforms, promising changes that will reshape how visa categories are managed, scrutinized, and enforced.
