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.
According to the UK report, Nigeria was among the countries most affected by changes to Britain’s immigration system, particularly new rules restricting care workers from bringing dependants and higher salary thresholds for skilled workers.
The UK government had expanded its Health and Care Worker visa route in 2022 to address labour shortages, leading to a surge in applications from countries including Nigeria, India and the Philippines. The policy helped drive Nigeria’s work visa applications to an unprecedented 93,000 in 2023.
However, the report noted that tighter immigration controls introduced in 2024 triggered a sharp reversal.
“By 2024, new salary thresholds for skilled workers and restrictions on care workers bringing dependants caused a sharp decline in applications. Nigeria, which recorded an unprecedented 93,000 work visa applications in 2023, saw this number fall to just 29,800 in 2024,” the report stated.
Despite the dramatic decline, Nigeria remained one of the UK’s biggest sources of visa applicants.
Data from the report showed that Nigerians submitted 164,200 visitor visa applications in 2024, making the country the fourth-largest source of visitor visa applications globally after India, China and Turkey.
Nigeria also ranked fourth worldwide for study visa applications with 29,700 applications and third globally for work visa applications with 29,800 applications, behind only India and Pakistan.
Within Africa, Nigeria led the continent in both study and work visa applications in 2024. The country recorded 29,700 study visa applications, far ahead of Ghana’s 4,500 and Kenya’s 2,800, while its 29,800 work visa applications surpassed Zimbabwe’s 19,600 and Ghana’s 11,500.
The report highlighted that Africa experienced a broader slowdown in migration to the UK after a post-pandemic boom. Visa applications from the continent reached a record 895,200 in 2023 before falling to 682,200 in 2024.
Researchers attributed the decline largely to policy changes affecting international students and migrant workers. New regulations introduced in 2024 prevented most postgraduate students from bringing dependants to the UK unless they were enrolled in research programmes, a move that significantly reduced applications from several African countries.
Study visa applications across Africa dropped from 146,100 in 2022 to 47,300 in 2024, while work visa applications fell from a peak of 218,700 in 2023 to 84,000 in 2024.
Nevertheless, Nigeria retained its position as Africa’s largest source of UK-bound migrants across major visa categories, underlining the country’s continued interest in education, employment and travel opportunities in the United Kingdom despite tougher immigration rules.
