The United Kingdom, (UK) has lifted its restriction on the processing of visitor visa application.

This was announced by the British High Commission in a statement in Abuja on Thursday following the earlier restriction.

The UK had imposed the restriction of visa issuance following the decision to bar Nigeria and 10 other countries from visiting owing to the Omicron variant of the COVID-19.

The statement by the British High Commission said: “UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will lift the pause on processing visitor visas in all countries previously on the red list. Due to extremely high global demand, standard UK visitor visas are currently taking significantly longer than usual to be processed. UKVI are working hard to process visitor visa applications as soon as possible and sincerely apologise to all our customers affected. Non-visitor visa applications (including student and work visas) are still being processed within published service standards and we are working hard to meet customer demand.

“Applicants will be contacted by the Visa Application Centre (VAC) when their passport is ready for collection. They should not visit the VAC until they have been invited to do so.

“You are not required to book any travel before applying for a visa, or before a decision is made on your application.”

The British High Commission said those with urgent need to travel to the UK will still need to apply for a visa in the usual way, including submitting biometrics at a VAC.

“Applicants should clearly explain the compelling or compassionate reasons for the visit in their application form and must alert the VAC staff during biometric submission,” it added.