UK embassy launches 24-hour super priority visa service in Nigeria

09 Aug 2016
Financial Nigeria

Summary

The SPV service is designed for key business customers and those who need to travel urgently.

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright

The United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has launched a new super priority visa (SPV) service that allows intending travellers to receive a visa decision within 24 hours.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the UKVI said the SPV service is aimed largely at key business customers and those who need to travel urgently by providing a visa decision for collection the working day following submission.

“I am pleased to see the Super Priority Visa service being launched in Nigeria,” said Paul Arkwright, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria. “This comes with an additional cost but is designed to give greater flexibility to our customers and underlines our strong commitment to make improvements to the visa services we offer.”

The new visa service will complement the UKVI’s current range of visa products, namely: Priority Visa (front of queue processing in 5-7 days) and standard (15 day) services. The SPV service costs £750 in addition to the visa fee and will be available to eligible customers applying in the Abuja and Lagos Victoria Island Visa Application Centres.

Customers applying in any one of the following immigration routes are eligible to use the SPV service: Visitors (all short stay visa categories, including those travelling for business and tourism) and Points Based System Tier 4 (applicants must be legally resident in Nigeria).

“We expect this new service to be particularly useful for business,” Arkwright said. “We understand that business opportunities and urgent requirements can arise at very short notice. We recognise this and want to facilitate such travel to the UK with this new super-fast service.”

The UK is the only European country to offer a visa decision in 24 hours. According to the UK Embassy, extending the SPV service to Nigeria is another example of how the UK is leading the world in the provision of premium visa services.


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