The United Kingdom has unveiled Africa’s largest visa application centre in Lagos State, marking a significant milestone in its visa services for Nigerian travellers. The centre was officially opened on Wednesday in partnership with VFS Global, the UK’s new commercial partner.
With operations beginning on November 19, Nigerian residents can now book appointments to submit their visa applications at VFS Global’s state-of-the-art Visa Application Centres (VAC) located in Abuja, Ikeja (Lagos), and Victoria Island (Lagos).
Speaking at the launch, British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter expressed his excitement about the development. “I am delighted to witness the opening of this, the largest visa application centre in Africa. Nigeria remains one of the UK’s most important partners, and 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), described the new VAC in Ikeja as a landmark achievement. “The opening of our new VAC in Ikeja marks an exciting milestone for UKVI and VFS Global in the provision of a world-class UK visa service here in Nigeria and across Africa. 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,” he said.
Alok Singhal, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at VFS Global, emphasized the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK. “We are excited to embark on this new journey with UK Visas and Immigration here in Nigeria. We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003 and look forward to now bringing travellers from Nigeria our best-in-class services,” he said.
This development underscores the UK’s commitment to fostering closer ties with Nigeria while providing enhanced visa services to meet the growing demand.
