On the new international education strategy of UK introduced in 2019, Nigeria was listed as one of five high-priority countries which were target source markets for international students. UK’s streamlined student visa Rules launched in October 2020 opened up its borders to attract more international students. The re-introduction of Graduate Route Visa (Post Study Work) Visa for graduates to stay back and work for 2/3 years, find skilled work visa and rights to switch to other immigration route in the UK proved to be extremely popular among Nigerian students and they have been taking full advantages to these.

Between 2012 and 2017, the UK saw a 27% drop in international students from Nigeria. But the numbers has been increased every year my big margins since the launch of new international education strategy by UK. Of the total 486,868 Sponsored study visas granted by UK in the year ending 2022, Nigerian students were granted 65,929 visas which is 57545 higher than visas issued in year ending 2019 (8,384), nearly an eight-fold increase (686%) – this is the largest relative increase in Sponsored Study visa grants to any national compared with 2019. In the year ending 2021, 36783 Nigerian students came to study in the UK, this number increased by 29,146 to 65,929 in the year ending 2022, in the space of just 1 year and Nigeria becomes the top 3 country after India and China for sponsored study visa in the UK. 

Nigerian postgraduate student brought the highest number of dependants to the UK, 40% of all dependants who accompanied foreign students in the 12 months to year ending June 2022. Some Nigerian students selling landed properties, house, cars, personal belongings, furniture and other assets to raise money while others taking loans from financial institutions to come and settle in the UK. To them this is a high-stake investment that will pay off many more times and they are happy to take this high risk to flee from the country where government has anti-youth policy, high youth unemployment, economic woes, including record high inflation, and a crippled education system.

Source: University World News