In Summary

• The commissioner said that in 2019 there were 300,000 students across the World who had applied to study in the UK but in 2022 the number doubled to 600,000.

• The Commissioner said it will take a few months to be back to normal operations.

The United Kingdom government has urged Kenyans planning to travel to the country to plan six weeks in advance due to delays in visas.

UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott said the delay being experienced is a global challenge at the moment. 

"I want to offer my sincere apologies to Kenyans for the delays in the UK visas It is a global challenge, it is not Kenya specific this is due to a huge backlog as a result of visa applications during Covid-19 that were not processed." 

"The various global issues and crises that are going off at the moment but also unprecedented demand for visas is also a reason for the delay," she said. 

The commissioner said that in 2019, there were 300,000 students across the World who had applied to study in the UK but in 2022, the number doubled to 600,000.

"Also due to the pressure on the service we are not able to offer our usual priority visa service, so if you are a business person used to getting your visa in five days, I'm really sorry but it's going to take six weeks," she said. 

She said the six weeks begin after the visit to the visa application and not during the online form application day.

Marriort regretted the delays experienced and  assured Kenyans the UK visas International are processing the backlogs as quickly as they can and it will take a few months to be back to normal operations. By PERPETUA ETYANG, The Star