Posted by By Augustine Avwode on
There are strong indications that Nigerians may soon begin to experience greater difficulties in procuring United Kingdom (UK) visas.
There are strong indications that Nigerians may soon begin to experience greater difficulties in procuring United Kingdom (UK) visas.
This is because the number of Nigerian immigrants in that country, put at well over a million and concentrated mainly in London and other cities across the country has started giving the UK authorities concern.
This development was revealed in a security report compiled by White Hall-Centre of the British Government- on Nigeria for the attention of Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth of England.
It was the product of three key government departments - the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development (DFID) dated June 22, 2005 and referenced: African Department (Equatorial) and titled Nigeria: A Whitehall Strategy. The 16- page document raised fears about an increasing Nigerian population in the UK more especially when incidences of forged documents and unverifiable claims of asylum seekers are on the increase.
'Nigerians are the leading nationality in the world for forged documentation presented at Heathrow; 15 per cent apply to us in Nigeria on forged papers; the latest INDIS assessment shows Nigeria as posing the highest immigration risk to the UK among countries of the world. We get over a quarter of a million visa applicants a year," the report stated. It was learnt that the fears of the UK government stems largely from the rate of crimes associated with Nigeria by the international community.
It named such crimes to include financial frauds, drugs, human trafficking and bunkering, among others.
The desire to 'manage migration flow, not one driven by desperation, and bear down on the abuse of our immigration control and unfounded asylum claims," may have been responsible for UK's decision.
'Nigerian presence in the UK is large and growing with a Diaspora possibly in excess of one million. The large number of Nigerians wanting to enter the UK illegally is a pressing challenge," the report further stated. It also said: 'Britain is the first choice of destination for most Nigerians in need of holiday, studying, working or settling abroad and a significant number use illegal means to try to gain entry and or remain in the UK."