By CHINEDU EZE

Sequel to the removal of Nigeria and 10 other African countries from its red list over the Omicron COVID-19, the United Kingdom (UK) has announced that it would resume the processing of visitor visa applications for Nigerians and other countries.

The British High Commission had suspended processing of visitor visa applications from Nigeria immediately it put the country on red list.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the British High Commission explained that UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) would lift the pause on processing visitor visas in all countries previously on the red list.

The statement titled: UKVI Lift Pause on Processing Visitor Visa Applications read, “In line with the lifting of red list restrictions – following the UK Government announcement that from 4:00am on 15th December all countries who were on the red list will be removed – UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) will lift the pause on processing visitor visas in all countries previously on the red list.

“Due to extremely high global demand, standard UK visitor visas are currently taking significantly longer than usual to be processed. UKVI are working hard to process visitor visa applications as soon as possible and sincerely apologise to all our customers affected.”

It added: “Non-visitor visa applications (including student and work visas) are still being processed within published service standards and we are working hard to meet customer demand.

“Applicants will be contacted by the Visa Application Centre (VAC) when their passport is ready for collection. They should not visit the VAC until they have been invited to do so.
“You are not required to book any travel before applying for a visa, or before a decision is made on your application.

“Those with an urgent need to travel to the UK for compassionate reasons will still need to apply for a visa in the usual way, including submitting biometrics at a VAC. Applicants should clearly explain the compelling or compassionate reasons for the visit in their application form and must alert the VAC staff during biometric submission.”

The statement further explained that if visitors had already submitted their visa application and needed to urgently travel to the UK for compassionate reasons, they could contact UK Visas & Immigration for help.

“Priority Visa (PV) and Super Priority Visa (SPV) services remain temporarily suspended for all visa routes in all countries coming off the red list.

“This allows UKVI to concentrate on assessing applications in date order for all our visa customers, and to deal equitably with the increased demand we are currently experiencing. This will be kept under review and we hope to be able to reinstate PV services in due course.

“Students who may have planned to use PV services can speak to their course provider about options, including COVID-19 concessions or slightly later starts if necessary. However, students may wish to consider making their application early, rather than waiting for PV and SPV services to be resumed,” the statement added. (Courtesy THISDAY)

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