The United Kingdom government will increase fees for Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking to visit, study, work or settle in the country effectively from April 8, 2026.

The revised fee schedule, published by the UK Home Office on Thursday shows increases across nearly all categories of visa applications made both within and outside the UK.

The affected categories include visit visas, student visas, work visas, settlement applications and naturalisation fees.

The changes will take effect in less than two weeks, at a time when Nigeria remains one of the UK’s biggest sources of visa applicants, with hundreds of thousands of Nigerians applying each year for visit, student, and work visas.

Under the new charges, the short-term visit visa will rise from £127 to £135, while the student visa will increase from £524 to £558.

Applicants seeking permanent residency through indefinite leave to remain will now pay £3,226, up from £3,029, while those applying for British citizenship through naturalisation will pay £1,709, up from £1,605.

In a rare exception to the general increase, the fee for registering a child as a British citizen will be reduced from £1,214 to £1,000 — a drop of £214.

Some categories, however, remain unchanged, including the Tier 1 (Investor) visa at £2,000 and the High Potential Individual visa at £880.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Maitama on Thursday discharged former Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah and her ex-aide, Gloria Odita, from the alleged N2.5billion fraud case brought against them by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF).

Justice Hamza Muazu issued the discharge order after the prosecution informed the court it had discontinued its case against them and filed an amended charge naming only two firms linked to the ex-minister as defendants.

The firms are Sobora International Limited and Global Offshore and Marine Limited.

When the case was first called in the morning, prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo ( SAN) told the court that based on plea bargain talks between parties, the prosecution had filed an amended charge.

When the issue of representation for the firms arose, lawyers for the parties sought time to address it, following which the judge stood down proceedings until later in the day.

In the amended two-count charge, Sobora International was accused of unlawfully possessing N838 million, while Global Offshore was alleged to have unlawfully possessed N1.629 billion.

When the case was recalled in the afternoon, the ex-minister stood as the representative of both firms and pleaded guilty, on their behalf, to the amended charge.

Following the guilty plea entered for the two firms, Oyedepo urged the court to convict them and issue an order winding them up.

Oyedepo also urged the court to order the forfeiture of N1.2 billion, paid as restitution by the companies (as detailed in a bank draft submitted to the court), and N780 million recovered by investigators during the investigation, to the Federal Government.Lawyer to the companies, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), did not object to Oyedepo’s requests, which the judge granted in his ruling.

Justice Muazu convicted the companies based on their guilty plea, issued an order winding them up, and further ordered that the N1.2 billion paid as restitution and the N780 million recovered during the investigation be forfeited to the FG

In picture: Chairman of the Nigeria Police Force committee on State Police, Professor Olu Ogunsakin, presents on behalf of IGP, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, a framework for the establishment of State Police to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, at the National Assembly, Abuja, on Thursday. Photo: DPS Media Office.

The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has submitted a framework for the establishment of State Police to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, as part of efforts to decentralise policing in Nigeria.

In a statement by Ismail Mudashir, the Special Adviser on media and publicity to the Deputy President of the Senate on Thursday, the 75-page report, titled “A comprehensive framework for the establishment, governance and coordination of Federal and State Police,” was presented to Jibrin at his office in the National Assembly by Professor Olu Ogunsakin, chairman of the Nigeria Police Force committee set up to examine the modalities for instituting State Police.

Disu said that the report covers the considered views, professional insights and strategic recommendations of the Force, derived from extensive consultations and a careful assessment of the operational, legal and administrative implications of instituting State Police in Nigeria.

“It is our expectation that the contents of this report will meaningfully contribute to ongoing deliberations and assist in shaping informed, balanced, and pragmatic decisions on this critical aspect of national security architecture,” he said

The IGP emphasised that the framework was forwarded to the Chairman and the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution “as the Nigeria Police Force’s input on the subject matter.”

In response , Senator Jibrin commended the IGP for his proactive approach on the establishment of the state police in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda to fully secure the country.

He assured that the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution “will look at the framework, along with all other memos submitted to it, for the review of the country’s grundnorm.

”The framework is expected to provide guidance on the proposed modus operandi, governance, and coordination of State Police, marking a major step in ongoing discussions to restructure Nigeria’s policing system.