The British High Commission in Nigeria has dismissed recent reports regarding changes to UK visa rules for Nigerians, saying no new restrictions had been introduced.
The Commission stated this on the back of the reports on planned new visa restrictions on three countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, saying that the UK government is constantly reviewing its immigration system to allow legal migration and legitimate travel.
A report, which first appeared in the Times, had claimed that the new visa restriction, due to be released soon, would affect nationalities whose citizens are most likely to overstay their approved stays.
The report noted that nationals from these countries overstay their visas and later seek asylum and successful asylum requests allow the applicants to permanently remain in the country.
As a consequence, the Home Office said they might face tougher restrictions when applying to work or study in the UK.
The report quoted a Home Office spokesperson as saying: “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,’’
However, in a swift reaction, the British High Commission in Nigeria reaffirmed the commitment of the United Kingdom’s government to work with its Nigeria counterpart in tackling illegal migration.
In an official statement made available to Vanguard yesterday, a spokesperson for the British High Commission in Nigeria stated: “We keep our immigration system under constant review to allow legal migration and legitimate travel, while deterring those who may seek to abuse it.
“Our UK and Nigeria people to people links are strong and enduring, and we continue to work closely with the Government of Nigeria to tackle irregular migration.”
