Nigerians have reportedly received more approvals than any other nationality for the United Kingdom’s global talent visa through the fashion industry route.
The Telegraph analysed data showing applications from 2019 to 2024, according to a report published Monday.
In the time analysed, there have been 291 Nigerian applications for fashion visas, far more than any other country. The second highest number were from Chinese designers, who submitted 67 applications.
In the same time period, 71 Nigerian applications have been endorsed by the British Fashion Council – more than any other nationality.
Advertisement
The British Fashion Council, a not-for-profit company, endorse applications on behalf of the Home Office, which then has the final sign-off on granting the visas.
In 2019, only three Nigerians applied for the UK’s global talent visa through fashion. By 2024, that number had soared to 145— a dramatic rise fuelled, in part, by growing awareness online.
Nigerian designers and creatives have taken to social media platforms to share advice, step-by-step guides, and personal experiences on how to successfully apply for the visa.
Advertisement
TheCable found such videos on TikTok, a platform popular among young creatives for both inspiration and information.
Britain’s global talent visa route is an immigration pathway designed to attract highly skilled and promising professionals from specific fields such as digital technology, arts and culture, academia, research, science, engineering, medicine, humanities, and social sciences, to live and work in the UK.
Applicants do not need to have a pending job offer and have the flexibility to work for employers, be self-employed, or set up their own companies within their endorsed field.
According to The Telegraph, Nigerians have made 729 applications across artistic global talent categories – dance, fashion, music, film and TV, theatre, combined arts and visual arts – second only to the US, with 977, since 2019.
Advertisement
However, only 59 percent of them have been endorsed – the lowest of any country apart from Ghana.
Since 2019, more than 5,000 applications have been made by all nationalities, with 3,600 endorsed by the Arts Council.
