Britain has imposed a year-long ban on delivering first-time visas to Nigerians aged 18 to 30, citing a backlog of applications, most of which are rejected.
From Monday, Nigerians seeking to travel to Britain for the first time will be asked to ”postpone their plans until 2006”, the British Foreign Office said.
The ban does not apply to Nigerian students seeking to study in Britain and some business travellers, as well as applicants whose spouse has travelled there in the past five years.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said 80% of the more than 23 000 applications received each month are refused, and that the main British visa office in Lagos will be ”reorganised” to handle the vetting process more efficiently.
”There is a long bureaucratic process to go through to ensure that people who travel intend to come back,” she said. ”We ask first-time visitors in this age group to postpone their plans until 2006.”
About 18 000 applications a month are received at the British high commission in Abuja, with a further 5 000 at the deputy high commission in Lagos.
A high commission official quoted by the BBC said demand for visas to travel to Britain has nearly doubled in the past two years.
The Foreign Office, in a statement issued on Friday, said exceptions to its new rule will be made in situations of ”genuine emergency” or for reasons of ”compassionate grounds”, for instance the death of a close relative. — Sapa-AFP