June 9, 2026
Nigeria’s applications for UK work visas plunged by nearly 68 per cent in 2024, falling from a record 93,000 in 2023 to just 29,800, following a series of immigration restrictions introduced by the British government.
The decline was revealed in a new report titled UK Visa Applications: A 20-Year Analysis by research firm Intelpoint, which examined more than 55.6 million UK visa applications submitted between 2005 and 2024.
The report comes amid fresh data showing that Nigerians spent more than N50 billion on United States visa applications between 2023 and 2024, underscoring the country’s continued appetite for overseas travel, education and employment opportunities despite increasingly restrictive immigration policies in major destination countries.
An analysis of the Intelpoint report, using data from the US Department of State, showed that 201,200 non-immigrant visas were issued to Nigerians between 2023 and 2024. At the standard visa application fee of $185 per applicant, Nigerians spent an estimated $37.2 million, equivalent to N50.7 billion at an average exchange rate of N1,360 to the dollar.
