VISA APPLICATION

The UK requires a visa for citizens of Nigeria to enter its territory. There are about 5 types of UK visa available depending on the reason for visit and personal circumstance. You are going to need to apply for a visitors visa to come to the UK for your PLAB/UKMLA examinations, and a skilled worker visa for coming to work in the UK.

TYPES OF UK VISAS

Below is a list of the different types of UK visas:

Visitor Visa (Tourism, Business, etc.)
Student Visa
Work Visa (Skilled Worker, Temporary Worker)
Settlement Visa
Transit Visa
Other Special Categories (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)

The visa process regulation is managed by the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI). See here for all the information you need to make a visa application. For the purpose of taking the PLAB 2 examination, you require a visitor visa.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

For your visitor visa application, you will need to meet the following requirements:

Valid Nigerian passport with at least six months validity.
Proof of financial stability (bank statements, employment, etc.).
Travel itinerary and accommodation details.
Proof of ties to Nigeria (e.g., employment, family).
Proof of return plans

DOCUMENTS FOR APPLICATION

Passport (valid for at least 6 months).

Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months from the proposed date of travel.

Visa application form (completed online).

The visa application form is completed online and can be found here. Ensure to fill it in carefully to avoid any errors as typographical errors can result in your visa being denied. Check and double check all figures; passport number, dates of birth, account balance, monthly expense, etc. You do not have to complete the application form in one go as you can save and continue later

Financial documents (bank statements, payslips, etc.).

You are going to need to provide proof of funds available to you for the trip. This is usually done by presenting your statement of account for a 3 - 6 month period. It is important to ensure that any large sums entering your account not consistent with the pattern of your income be explained in the "extra information" section of your online application.

Proof of accommodation and travel plans.

You will be required to provide proof of accommodation. This can be in form of your hotel reservation confirmation or a letter from a relative or friend you will be staying with stating clearly that you will be staying with them. See our resources page for sample letter of invitation.

Biometric information (fingerprints and photo).

Your fingerprint and photograph will be taken when you attend the visa application centre. Recently, the application process has been improved such that you can upload all the required documents for your visa application online yourself. However, you will still need to attend the visa application centre to have your biometric data taken. There are 3 visa application centres in Nigeria; 2 in Lagos and 1 in Abuja. The visa application data collection is managed by a third-party organisation called VFS global.

After completion of your online form and payment, you will be able to download a "document checklist". Ensure that you provide all of the documents listed on this checklist as they are the primary documents neccesary to process your visa. You can add as many other documents as you consider necessary to support your application but do not leave out any of the documents on the checklist.