The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) office has said that the processing time of standard visas for applicants seeking to visit the United Kingdom will now take an average of 6 weeks.
The increase in processing time is due to unpredictable demand across all visa centres, a fallout of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global travel restrictions.
According to the British High Commission in Nigeria on its official Twitter account, this disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the UK Visas and Immigration office, on Tuesday, 08 February 2022.
The UKVI office said that they are working at reducing the current processing time as quickly as possible.
What the UK Visas and Immigration office is saying
The statement from the UKVI reads, ‘’Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and global travel restrictions, UKVI are experiencing unpredictable demand across all visa routes.
“Standard visitor visa applications are taking on the average six weeks to process. UK Visas and Immigration are working to reduce the current processing time as quick as possible. You should bear this in mind when making travel arrangements.”
The UKVI advised applicants against unnecessary visits to the Visa Application Centres (VACs) unless they were invited, stating that applicants whose passports were ready for collection would be contacted by officials at the centre for pick up.
It, however, stated there would be a consideration for extremely compassionate or compelling circumstances such as medical emergencies, although that would come at an extra cost.
It said, “You will be contacted by the Visa Application Centre (VAC) when your passport is ready for collection. Please do not attend the VAC until you have been invited to do so,” it said.
“Where there are extremely compassionate or compelling circumstances (for example, a medical emergency), we may consider expediting specific cases. However, the bar for this is high and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“If your request is exceptionally urgent you can contact UK Visas and Immigration for help. Please note that this is a chargeable service for overseas customers. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
In case you missed it
- Recall that the U.K government’s Visa Office in Nigeria had announced the resumption of its Priority Visa (PV) in all the Nigerian visa application centres from January 24, 2022, noting that only priority visa services will resume for the time being due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on courier routes.
- Nairametrics had some days ago reported long queues as Nigerians besieged the United Kingdom (UK) visa application centres in Lagos daily, since the resumption of the U.K visa application processes by the British High Commission in Nigeria.
It has been long I summit what’s going on over the Visa issue