Wetin to know about di visa and IHS fees UK goment wan increase

Di visa and health fees for applicants wey wan go UK go increase “well-well”.

Na wetin di kontri Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announce on Thursday.

Di Immigration Health Surcharge alias IHS wey applicant dey pay na to fund di National Health Service.

Why UK increase visa fee?

Di UK leader Rishi Sunak say di reason why dem dey increase di visa fee na to raise more money so dat dem fit pay dia workers more.

“If we must pay goment workers more, dat money go need to come from some wia else becos I no dey prepared to increase pipo tax and I no tink say e dey right to borrow more becos dat go just make inflation worse,” Sunak tok.

“So, wetin we do na two tins to take find dis money. Di first tin na, we go increase di charges migrants wey dey come dis kontri go pay to apply for visas and di Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), IHS na di money dem dey pay to access di NHS,” E add.

“All dis money go increase and we go raise ova £1billion, so across board visa application fees go, go up well-well and di same for di IHS,” Sunak add.

Goment neva tok how much di new visa and IHS fee go be.

Di standard fee for a skilled visa na usually between £625 and £1,423.

If you get di visa, di visa fit last for up to five years before you renew am.

How UK immigration law dey affect migrants?

For 2022, di goment say dem give 485,758 student visas.

Half of di pipo wey collect visa come from India and China.

Di next kontri wey top dat list na Nigeria, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh.

But di goment recently change dia law on student visa.

From January 2024, Foreign postgraduate students on non-research courses no go fit bring dia family members to UK, under di new immigration law.

Last year, goment give 135,788 visas to relatives of foreign students, nearly nine times di 2019 figure.

Di Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tell ministers say dia new move go help bring migration down.

Why Nigerians dey japa to UK

‘Japa’ na slang wey many young pipo for Nigeria dey use, e mean to travel out of di kontri to escape di hardship in search of a better life.

Most pipo wey dey japa to come go study dey hope say dem fit get permnent work wen dem finish dia school.

But under UK new immigration law e no go dey possible to switch like dat.

BBC bin tok to two Nigerian students wey dey study for Wolverhampton University.

Rotimi, dey do masters degree for mechanical engineering, she say she understand why politicians fit wan reduce immigration levels.

But add say most of di pipo wey dey come UK to study also dey "look beyond studying" - and dem want dia family to dey "part of dat experience".

E say if way no dey for overseas students to bring dia family, "most pipo no go even consider to leave" – dem go rather study for anoda place.

As an undergraduate wey dey do a course in mental health nursing, Titilope no dey di category of students wey fit bring her relatives come UK.

But she say, to allow students to bring dia family wit dem mean say dem fit focus on dia studies, instead to worry "if dem get money, or if dem dey alright".

"At di same time, you know say your family dey here. If you dey go through a tough time, e better to get family to tok to. So you no go feel alone."

How Nigerians react to di new visa fee

Body dey pepper some Nigerians wey chook mouth ontop di increased visa and IHS fee wey UK goment just announce.

One Twitter user, Akeem Adenuga say ‘’those wey dey plan to japa to UK, una money go long’’.