By Chico Mies The UK government is preparing to restrict visa access for nationals from countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as part of a wider crackdown aimed at curbing visa overstaying and asylum abuse. According to reports, individuals from these countries may soon find it harder to obtain work or study visas. The Home Office claims the move targets those who legally enter the UK but later switch to claiming asylum, potentially staying permanently if granted. The department’s forthcoming Immigration White Paper will outline sweeping reforms to address what officials call a “broken immigration system.” Although the Home Office hasn’t published exit data since 2020, ministers argue that undocumented overstayers pose a challenge to the system’s integrity. Critics, however, including Professor Jonathan Portes, suggest that the actual impact on asylum figures could be minimal, saying the effort appears more about optics than meaningful change. Prime Minister Keir Starm...
MiesTalks Thousands of university graduates across Nigeria have been denied the opportunity to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) flagged their admissions as illegitimate in April 2024. Despite having accepted their offers years ago and being listed on the official matriculation register, their JAMB portals suddenly displayed “fake admission.” Approximately 14,000 students, many from institutions like Ambrose Alli University, Imo State University, University of Calabar, and Lagos State University, were affected just days before the NYSC Batch B Stream 1 mobilisation . Graduates explained that although they took the JAMB exam, their schools admitted them directly and handled regularisation processes that later proved ineffective. Some students paid for JAMB regularisation and even received admission letters, only to later see their status revoked. JAMB, in response, attributed the issue to illegal admiss...