UK opens Africa’s biggest visa application centre in Ikeja
On Wednesday, the UK said a new visa application centre was opened in Ikeja through its new commercial partner, VFS Global.
The British High Commission said it was the largest in Africa.
It noted that VFS Global opened the United Kingdom VAC in Abuja and Victoria Island, Lagos.
The mission said Nigerians travelling to the UK could book appointments to submit visa applications through the new VAC centre.
At the launch of the new application centre in Ikeja, British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter said Nigeria remained one of the UK’s most important partners.
“We hope that VFS delivers ever-improving services for those applying for visas to the UK,” he said.
Marc Owen, the director of Visa, Status and Information Services at UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), said the new VAC marked an exciting milestone for UKVI and VFS Global in providing a world-class UK visa service in Nigeria.
“In the year to June 2024, we processed more than 225,000 UK visas for Nigerian nationals across all categories.
“This new partnership demonstrates our continued commitment to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient and meet the needs of all applicants,” Mr Owen said.
Alok Singhal, the head of Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, said VFS had enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UKVI since 2003 and looked forward to bringing travellers from Nigeria best-in-class services.
VFS Global would provide VACs for the UK in 31 countries in the African region.
According to the commission, UK visa customers can now choose from optional services offered by VFS Global to provide enhanced comfort and convenience.
The mission said these would include document upload assistance and prime time for application submission outside of business hours. The others include SMS notifications, document checking services, and courier returns of the passports once a decision has been made.
“Customers in Abuja can also submit their UK visa applications from the comfort and safety of their homes, offices or any other preferred locations with our on-demand mobile visa service,” it stated.
According to the mission, the services are optional and have no bearing on visa application processing timelines and outcomes.
(NAN)
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