UK says student, work visas still available — only priority applications suspended

The British High Commission in Nigeria has clarified that the United Kingdom did not suspend applications for student, work and family visas.

The embassy disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, stressing that only priority visas had been suspended.
Earlier on Tuesday, the UK embassy had said it was temporarily suspending “priority services” for applications for work, study and family visas.
The embassy said the decision was taken to prioritise applications made under the Ukraine family scheme amid the humanitarian crisis arising from the Ukraine-Russia war.
But in the fresh statement issued on Wednesday, the British High Commission in Nigeria said it was still possible to apply for any category of the UK visa, but not for “priority” services.
The statement read in part, “It is still possible to apply for any category of UK visa in the usual way on gov.uk and via our Visa Applications Centres (VAC) in Nigeria.
“Our VACs remain open and customers are welcome to apply for a standard visa of any category in the usual manner. This includes student, family, work and visit visas.
“However, due to a reprioritisation of resources in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine, the UK has temporarily suspended its priority visa service.
“As our March 15 statement made clear, this temporary suspension only applies to the UKVI’s expedited, added-value ‘Priority’ and ‘Super Priority’ visa services.

“This suspension is to enable the UKs global visa operation to prioritise applications for the new Ukraine Family Scheme.
“This decision to suspend priority visa services is also clearly stated on UKVI’s guidance page, which sets out the latest decision waiting times for visa applicants outside the UK: www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-decision-waiting-times-applications-outside-the-uk.
“On behalf of UKVI, the British High Commission in Nigeria would like to apologise for any inconvenience this development has caused.
“The British High Commission in Nigeria will issue an updated statement the moment ‘Priority’ and ‘Super Priority’ visa services resume.”