UK tightens visa restrictions for Nigerians amid overstay concerns

6 hours ago 4
  • The UK Home Office tightened visa restrictions for Nigerians, Pakistanis, and Sri Lankans, citing concerns implicit imaginable asylum claims
  • Government officials collaborated with the National Crime Agency (NCA) to make predictive models aimed astatine identifying applicants apt to overstay
  • Migration experts questioned the accuracy of these models, informing that profiling applicants could pb to unpredictable oregon discriminatory outcomes

The UK Home Office implemented restrictions connected enactment and survey visa applicants from Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka owed to concerns implicit imaginable asylum claims.

Whitehall officials flagged individuals from these countries arsenic the astir apt to overstay their visas and question asylum.

UK Government Introduces Stricter Visa Policies for Nigerians Seeking Work and StudyUK Government Introduces Stricter Visa Policies for Nigerians Seeking Work and Study. Photo credit: NurPhoto/GettyImages
Source: Getty Images

Collaboration with the nationalist transgression agency

The authorities worked alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA) to make predictive models aimed astatine profiling applicants who were apt to marque asylum claims.

Migration experts suggested that the occurrence of this inaugural depended connected the accuracy and reliability of the quality supporting these models.

Nearly 10,000 asylum seekers who primitively entered the UK connected survey oregon enactment visas resided successful taxpayer-funded accommodation, specified arsenic hotels, astatine assorted points past year.

Data disclosed by the Home Office successful March revealed that Nigerian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan nationals accounted for the bulk of these cases.

Efforts to trim pupil visa holders seeking asylum

The UK authorities planned measures to curb the fig of pupil visa holders who applied for asylum. Officials were instructed to measure the slope statements submitted by visa holders erstwhile determining eligibility for asylum accommodation.

The strategy aimed to way fiscal patterns that could bespeak imaginable misuse of pupil visas.

Development of intelligence-based screening models

The Home Office attempted to physique intelligence-driven screening models to assistance caseworkers place individuals apt to exploit enactment and survey visas arsenic a loophole for asylum claims. Pakistani, Nigerian, and Sri Lankan visa holders were identified arsenic high-risk applicants nether this scheme.

Challenges successful predictive accuracy

Migration adept Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory astatine the University of Oxford, expressed doubts astir the effectiveness of specified predictive models.

She noted that determining who was apt to question asylum aft accomplishment required robust data, and patterns mightiness not ever beryllium clear. According to Sumption, the interaction of this argumentation could alteration importantly based connected however accurately individuals were profiled.

UK Government Introduces Stricter Visa Policies for Nigerians Seeking Work and StudyUK Government Introduces Stricter Visa Policies for Nigerians Seeking Work and Study. Photo credit: Peeterv/GettyImages
Source: Depositphotos

Legal considerations and imaginable favoritism claims

Concerns arose implicit whether the argumentation could look ineligible challenges connected grounds of discrimination.

While Sumption acknowledged the UK government’s discretion implicit enactment and survey visa approvals, she stated that determination could beryllium constricted ineligible avenues for challenging specified decisions.

Nigerians to wage much to sojourn UK

Legit.ng earlier reported that the United Kingdom has reviewed its visa fees for migrants, including Nigerians, which volition instrumentality effect connected April 9, 2025.

These revisions, announced by the UK authorities is for assorted visa types including study, visit, sponsorship, and transit visas.

Under the caller interest structure, Nigerians readying to question to the UK arsenic visitors oregon students volition wage much to marque the trip. Specifically, a six-month tourer visa volition spot a astir 7% rise, climbing from £115 to £127.

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Source: Legit.ng

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