Walk-in Visa Service Suspended In Nigeria by The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom Mission in Nigeria has announced a temporary suspension of the Flexi Appointment, often known as the walk-in service, at its Visa Application Centres.
Touchaheart Nigeria reports that the mission said in a statement on Monday that the move was made to ensure the safety of its clients who were standing outside the VAC.
Visa applicants who arrive before their scheduled appointment will not be seen, according to the Mission.
The statement read in part,
“To protect the safety of customers waiting outside of our Visa Application Centres, the Flexi Appointment (walk-in) service has been temporarily suspended. You will not be able to book one of these appointments online or by turning up at the VAC. If you have already paid for this service (before 10 January) then you can still benefit from this.
“You should not attend the VAC until it is your allocated appointment time, or you have been contacted by TLS to collect your passport. Visa customers who turn up at the VAC significantly before their appointment will be asked to leave and return at the correct date and time.”
However, the UK Mission noted that there will be exceptions for urgent circumstances such as health emergency, which would be handled on an individual basis.
Student visa applications are being processed in a timely manner, according to the statement.
“Where there are extremely compassionate or compelling circumstances (for example, a medical emergency), UKVI may consider expediting specific cases. However, the bar for this is high and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“We are aware that large numbers of prospective students are queuing outside of the Visa Application Centre to try and secure a visa appointment. Student applications are being processed within the customer service standard of 15 working days,”the statement added.
