The UK Home Office has jerked up the prices of visa applications in different categories, raising study visa fees for main applicants and their dependants from £490 to £524.

The Home Office Immigration, according to its website, revised the visa fees on March 19, stating that a six-month visit visa will cost £127 from £115 while two-year visa will go for £475 up from £432 and 10-year visa will be issued at £1059, which formerly cost £963.

Transit visa for direct airside has been adjusted to £39 from £35 while that of direct landside visit visa was reviewed to £70 from £64. The reviewed fees are effective April 9.

The UK has become a sort of academic hub for many Nigerians seeking to further their studies and escape the nation’s economic crisis.

But the number of these Nigerian education enthusiasts who wish to travel to the UK has  declined sharply in 2024 after the government implemented a policy barring international students from bringing their family members. The rule, does not, however, apply to postgraduate research students.

The policy, according to a March 2024 report by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, led to the drastic drop in study visa applications as Nigerians, Indians and other nationalities sought admissions in other countries for further to studies.