Britain has transferred its offices for visa application from Nairobi’s Upper Hill area to Westlands.
The UK visa application centre will conduct its functions at the 9 West building starting Tuesday.
“Our
new offices will help deliver improved customer services, with access
to a premium lounge and additional priority services,” reads a press
statement.
Like the Upper Hill offices, the new office
will process visas for nationals from Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC
Congo and South Sudan who seek to travel to the UK.
Applications are completed online. (READ: Online visa application mandatory: UK)
The
development, however, comes at a time when relations between Kenya and
Britain have grown tepid in recent months after the latter issued travel
advisories restricting the movements of Britons in Kenya.
EVACUATION ANGERED KENYANS
Hundreds of British tourists were last month evacuated from Mombasa on security concerns, a move that angered Kenyan officials.
Britain
has enlisted the services of London-based technology firm VFS Global,
which works together with the UK Border Agency in preparing visas.
A number of Kenyan workers have travelled overseas to the UK in search of greener pastures in the European nation.
Local
students have also over the years sought to advance their education in
Britain’s universities with the hope of securing better deals after
graduating.
The UK boasts top learning institutions, such as Cambridge, Oxford and the London School of Business and Finance.
Degrees
from these institutions are seen as direct tickets to plum job
positions, a situation that has attracted a number of learners.
Data
from the British High Commission in Nairobi shows that the number of
Kenyan students enrolling in the UK universities stood at 1,125 in 2012.
This article first appeared in the Business Daily.
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