Strengthening UK-Nigeria Relations: UKVI Global Director’s Official Visits Nigeria

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Director of United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI), Mr. Marc Owen was in Nigeria this week for his first official visit to the country in this role.

A statement on Thursday by the Senior Communications & Public Diplomacy Officer, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, British High Commission, Onyinye Madu said as one of UK’s largest visa markets, Nigeria remains pivotal to the UKVI’s global operations.

During his visit, Marc Owen engaged with key stakeholders in Abuja and Lagos and reiterated the UKVI’s dedication to fostering strong relationships and ensuring efficient, customer-focused visa services.

In Abuja, he met with Ambassador Asari E. Allotey, Director for Legal, Migration and Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he highlighted important UK visa developments including the global eVisa rollout and how to maintain the integrity of the UK’s immigration system.

He also met the Vital Registration and Digitisation Lead at the National Population Commission (NPC), Mr. Makama Taala as well as Dr. Penelope Miremba, Migration Health Officer at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) where he emphasised the benefits to both UK and Nigeria of digitising records such as birth and death certificates and TB test certificates respectively, enhancing how records are stored, transmitted, and verified.

At the British Council office, the UKVI delegation toured the English language test centre, and engaged with a range of student-councillors and UK university agents.

In Lagos, he met with stakeholders from the UK Joint Border Task Force (JBTF) and key business leaders. He also visited the newly inaugurated UK Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Ikeja, operated through the UK’s new commercial partner, VFS Global, to engage with teams on service delivery to ensure our services meet the highest standards of convenience and efficiency.

Throughout his time in Nigeria Marc also addressed the challenges posed by visa fraud and fake travel agents and cautioned visa applicants to be vigilant and reiterated the importance of using only official UKVI channels when applying for UK visas.

This step is vital to safeguarding applicants and maintaining trust in the visa process. His visit marks a new chapter in UK-Nigeria collaboration, with promises of greater engagement and impactful outcomes.