As part of efforts to reform its immigration system, the United Kingdom could soon restrict visa applications from nationalities whose citizens are most likely to overstay their approved stays.
According to The Times, the Home Office listed the affected countries as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka
The report noted that nationals from these countries overstay their visas and later seek asylum.
As a consequence, the Home Office said they may face tougher restrictions when applying to work or study in the UK.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system.
“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.
“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.
“Under our plan for change, our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” a Home Office spokesperson was quoted to have said.
Full details of the government’s plans are due to be published in the said paper later in May.
Nigerians have been significantly affected by the UK’s immigration reform plans over the past two years, especially in the areas of student visas, work permits, and visa approvals.
Following tighter rules on dependents and post-study work opportunities introduced by former Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, international student applications to the UK have dropped drastically.
Many Nigerians have now turned to other countries.
A report in 2024 showed how Nigerian visa rejection rates to the UK rose from about 1 in 31 applications in late 2022 to 1 in 8 by late 2023.
This resulted in a 63 per cent decrease in visas issued to Nigerians compared to the previous year.
No comments:
Post a Comment