From Dec 5, UK high commission will no longer withhold your original documents

The UK high commission in Nigeria has adopted a new visa application process, the British High Commission disclosed on Friday.

Joe Abuku, spokesman of the high commission, described the new process as a slight change in which visa staff now only need electronic versions of support documents.

The new process, which takes effect from December 5 for customers applying for a UK visa in Lagos, Victoria Island and Ikeja, would bring applicants benefits from digital improvements to the UK visa application process.

“TLSContact (responsible for UK Visa Application Centres in Nigeria) will scan your supporting documents whilst you’re at the visa application centre, and then return your original documents to you,” the statement said.

“They will then send these (electronic) documents to UKVI, with your passport and application form, and visa officers will consider your application in the usual way.”

In order to avoid delays in the visa application centre, the commission requested applicants to ensure they complied with requirement to provide all documents in A4 size, while any other documents smaller or larger than A4 should be photocopied onto A4 sized paper.

It advised all customers to remove any clips or pins from documents before submitting their application.

The commission also warned that any “torn, crumpled or heavily creased documents”, which is difficult to photocopy, should be photocopied onto A4 sized paper before submitted, as they can’t be scanned in this condition.