THE United Kingdom (UK) Embassy in Nigeria has announced a temporary suspension of study, work and family visa applications, barely two months after it resumed processing, as priority has now been placed on applications made under the Ukraine Family Scheme.
The British High Commission resumed consular services on January 24, after suspending visa applications from red list countries, including Nigeria, on December 6, 2021.
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In a statement on Tuesday, the embassy announced that the Ukraine Family Scheme was launched in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine.
The statement titled, ‘Temporary Suspension of Priority Visas for Student, Work and Family Applications’, further noted that Nigerians, whose passports were ready for collection, would be contacted by the Visa Application Centre (VAC).
Parts of the statement read, “UK Visas and Immigration is currently prioritising applications made under the Ukraine Family Scheme, following its launch and in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine.
“As a result, UKVI has temporarily suspended priority and super-priority services for new study, work and family applications. Customers with standard applications in study, work and family routes may experience some delays in the processing of their application.
“We are still currently unable to offer PV (Priority Visa) for visitor applications in Nigeria. Standard visitor visa applications are currently taking an average of six weeks to process”.
The statement further explained that applicants are not allowed to visit the Visa Application Centre unless they have been invited to do so.