‘1.3m rejections’: How UK denied Nigerians visa for two decades

Official UK Home Office data obtained by The PUNCH reveals that at least 1,344,595 Nigerian visa applications were rejected between 2005 and early 2026, placing Nigeria second globally in total UK visa refusals and accounting for 44.4 per cent of all rejections across Africa.

The numbers are in — and they make for uncomfortable reading.

Over a 21-year period spanning 2005 to the first quarter of 2026, the United Kingdom rejected at least 1,344,595 Nigerian visa applications, according to official Home Office data obtained by The PUNCH. That figure places Nigeria second globally in total UK visa refusals — behind only India, and ahead of Pakistan and China.

The cumulative refusal rate for Nigerian applicants over the period stood at 33.1 per cent — more than double the UK’s global average of 14.8 per cent. Put another way, roughly one in every three Nigerians who applied was turned away.

Perhaps most striking: while Nigerians submitted just 6.8 per cent of all global UK visa applications, they accounted for 15.2 per cent of all rejections worldwide. Across Africa, Nigeria’s 1.34 million refusals made up a commanding 44.4 per cent of the continent’s total rejections.

Visitor visas drove the bulk of the pain. Of all Nigerian refusals, 83.8 per cent — some 1,127,088 applications — fell in the visitor category, which carried a 37.1 per cent refusal rate across the full period. Study visa rejections added 130,712 more, while work visas contributed 41,410.

The picture wasn’t always this bleak. Refusal rates improved steadily through the 2010s, hitting a recent low of 21 per cent in 2023, when a post-pandemic surge drove a record 281,658 visa grants to Nigerian applicants — the highest single-year total in the entire dataset.

But the reprieve was short-lived. In April 2024, the UK raised the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas by 48 per cent — from £26,200 to £38,700 — and restricted dependent visa rights for students and care workers. Nigeria’s work visa applications subsequently collapsed by approximately 68 per cent in 2024.

By the first quarter of 2026, rejection rates had already climbed to 35.4 per cent — higher than either of the two preceding full years.

Britain may be granting visas to more Nigerians than almost any other nationality. It is also saying no — a lot.