The United Kingdom announced that there will be an increase in visa application fees for Nigerians and other foreign nationals.
Furthermore, immigrants seeking visas will also face a significant rise in the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) they are required to pay.
The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that the reason for the fee increase in visa applications and the NHS surcharge is to fill the gap caused by recent pay raises in the public sector, as these fees had not been raised for a while.
We have to prioritize our citizens
He stated:
“If we’re going to prioritize paying public sector workers more, that money has to come from somewhere else because I’m not prepared to put up people’s taxes, and I don’t think it would be responsible or right to borrow more because that would just make inflation worse.”
As a result, visa application fees and the IHS will both see a substantial increase, generating over £1 billion in revenue. The IHS, paid as part of a visa application, will rise to £1,035.
Work and visit visas will increase by 15%, while study visas, certificates of sponsorship, wide entry clearance, leave-to-remain, priority visas, and others will see an increase of at least 20%.
The government has offered pay raises ranging from 5% to 7% to over one million public sector workers, including teachers, police officers, and doctors.
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U.S. commences no-interview-visa renewal in Nigeria
In another news, the U.S. Mission has announced the commencement of no-interview-visa-renewal services in the country.
This is aimed at assisting non-immigrant visa applicants who arev qualified to renew their visas.The U.S Mission in Nigeria stated this in a statement by its Public Affairs Department on Tuesday.
It noted that it was poised to expand its visa services.Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller,also confirmed this in Lagos on Tuesday.
