Residents of Enugu and Port Harcourt seeking to travel to the United Kingdom can now enjoy greater access to visa services following the launch of new Premium Visa Application Centres by VFS Global in both cities.
According to a statement from the UK Home Office released on Monday, the new centres are located at Omedel Luxury Hotel in Enugu and Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, and are designed to meet the increasing demand for UK visas from Nigerian nationals, particularly as the summer travel season approaches.
Appointments for the new centres can be made online via the VFS Global website, the statement added.
“The government is pleased to be able to reopen the Premium Visa Application Centres in both Port Harcourt and Enugu,” said the UK Minister of State at the Home Office, Rt. Hon. Lord Hanson.
“In 2024 we received more than 230,000 visa applications from Nigerian nationals across all visa routes and these new premium application centres will provide greater convenience for applicants in and around Enugu and Rivers State demonstrating the importance of the UK – Nigeria relationship in these markets as well as Nigeria as a whole,” he added.
The statement also noted that the newly opened centres will complement the existing UK Visa Application Centres in Abuja, Ikeja, and Victoria Island, Lagos, which have been operational since November 2024.
Nigeria continues to be one of the top sources of visa applications to the UK, with the UK Home Office confirming that the country accounts for six percent of all UK visit visa applications globally, placing it among the top four countries by volume.
READ ALSO: JAMB: Over 1.5m candidates score below 200 in 2025 UTME
Alok Singhal, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at VFS Global, said the move would significantly improve the experience for applicants in the southeastern and south-south regions of Nigeria.
“We are pleased to open the additional, conveniently located touchpoints for our UK visa customers in the form of the recently opened Premium Application Centres in Enugu and Port Harcourt, Nigeria, which help us cater to a larger number of travellers to the UK,” Singhal stated.
“Our customers will continue to enjoy the same comfort, convenience, and best-in-class services at these locations that they do at our Visa Application Centres in Abuja and Lagos,” he said.
Applicants who choose the Premium Visa Application Centres will have access to a range of value-added services, including:
- Assistance with uploading supporting documents
- Real-time status updates on their applications
- Courier delivery of decisioned documents
- The option to retain their passports while their applications are being processed
These services aim to provide enhanced comfort and flexibility for travellers, especially those residing outside Lagos and Abuja.
VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, has partnered with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003. In 2023, the company was awarded the global contract to manage UK visa services in 142 countries.
Today, VFS Global operates more than 3,500 visa application centres across 158 countries and has processed over 309 million applications since its founding in 2001.
The addition of these centres is expected to ease congestion at the major hubs in Lagos and Abuja while reinforcing the UK’s commitment to maintaining strong travel and economic ties with Nigeria.