The British Embassy in Nigeria recently witnessed increased in visa applications by Nigerians who want to study in the United Kingdom (UK), and those seeking for employment opportunities, according to the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing.
Laing who made this known during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday said that there are people of Nigerian origin in the UK and as such people will like to go to where they have family and friends, adding that the English Language makes it a lot easier.
Laing further revealed that the increase in application for student visas by Nigerians was due to the change in policy, which now allows master’s or PhD up to a minimum of 2 years to work in the UK upon the completion of their programs.
She, however noted that the UK government was mindful of the situation and was in talks with the Nigerian government to avoid causing a brain drain, especially in the health sector.
The UK envoy said, “You know, there are obviously people of Nigerian origin in the UK. So, people like to go where they have family or where they have friends. Secondly, the English language obviously makes it a lot easier.
“Third is education, and people who have studied will want to return. And I think you know, we are a welcoming country and we want to welcome talents, whether it’s people coming to study, or people coming to work.
“So, a lot of Nigerians will be tuned to the UK and we have seen actually a very big increase in requests for Nigerian student visas. That is partly because we have changed our policy.
“So it is now easier for Nigerian students to remain after their studies; they can stay I think up to two years if you have done a master’s or a Ph.D., which will enable people to look for work after they have studied.
“We have a labour shortage in the UK at the moment. But we have to balance that because we do not also want to be responsible for a massive brain drain from Nigeria because you also need talented people.
“So the health sector is an example where there are a lot of Nigerian medics, both nurses and doctors in the National Health Service.’’
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