UK Reaffirms Visa Requirement for Nigerians, over 100 Other Countries for Short Duration

Festus Akanbi

The United Kingdom has reaffirmed that Nigerians and nationals of more than 100 countries and territories must obtain visas before travelling to the country for visits or for a duration of less than six months.

The requirement is set out in the updated UK Immigration Rules Appendix Visitor, which lists countries and categories of travelers who must obtain entry clearance before embarking on a journey to the UK. The updated immigration rule was released at the weekend.

Under the rules, citizens of Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Russia and several other African, Asian, European and Latin American countries remained classified as visa nationals, who must obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK, except where specific exemptions apply.

The updated guidance also extended the visa requirement to stateless persons and individuals travelling with documents other than national passports or, where permitted, national identity cards.

It stated: “Stateless persons and people travelling on documents other than a national passport or, where applicable, a national identity card must also obtain entry clearance before travelling, unless the document has been issued by the UK.”

The UK Home Office, however, in the rules released on July 1, indicated that limited exceptions apply to certain nationals of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, with the relevant exemptions set out in subsequent provisions of the immigration rules.

The development means that Nigerian travellers planning tourism, family visits, short business engagements, or other visits lasting less than six months must continue to obtain the appropriate UK visa before departure.

Other African countries on the visa list include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia and Gabon.

Also listed are The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa are equally included.

Outside Africa, affected countries and territories include Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran and Iraq.

Others are Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.

The list further covers Dominica, Fiji, St Lucia and Suriname, among others.

The Immigration Rules separately stipulated that stateless persons must obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK.