Nearly 50,000 Nigerians have secured work visas to the United Kingdom over the past five years, with healthcare professionals making up the overwhelming majority of successful applicants.
Official data from the UK Home Office, shows that 49,498 work visas were granted to Nigerians between 2021 and the first quarter of 2026. During the same period, Nigerians submitted 54,707 applications, giving the country a visa approval rate of about 90.5 per cent.
The figures place Nigeria as the second-largest recipient of UK work visas globally after India, highlighting the strong demand for Nigerian professionals, particularly in the health and social care sector.
According to the data, more than 42,000 of the approved visas were issued under the Health and Care Worker route. Care workers and home carers accounted for the largest share with 22,376 visas, followed by nurses, senior care workers, medical practitioners, physiotherapists and radiographers.
The UK’s health and social care industry employed more than 42,500 Nigerians during the period, representing almost 86 per cent of all work visas issued to Nigerians.
Outside healthcare, Nigerians also secured visas in sectors such as information technology, accounting, business consulting and software development. The creative industry, including music and entertainment, also recorded a significant number of successful applications.
The number of visas granted to Nigerians rose sharply from 5,119 in 2021 to 14,084 in 2022 before reaching a peak of 28,495 in 2023. However, the figures dropped significantly after the UK introduced tougher immigration rules in 2024.
The British government tightened visa requirements by increasing salary thresholds, preventing most care workers from bringing family members and strengthening oversight of employers sponsoring overseas workers. These changes contributed to a sharp decline in applications and approvals throughout 2024 and 2025.
The earlier surge was largely driven by the UK’s decision to expand its Health and Care Worker visa programme following labour shortages created by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Across Africa, Nigeria topped the list of countries receiving UK work visas during the period, ahead of Zimbabwe and Ghana. Globally, only India recorded more approvals.
Despite the opportunities, Nigeria remains on the World Health Organisation’s list of countries facing critical shortages of healthcare workers, raising continued concerns about the impact of migration on the country’s already strained health sector.
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