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The United Kingdom will, from February 25, 2026, stop issuing physical visa stickers to Nigerian travellers, replacing them entirely with digital eVisas in what officials described as a major overhaul of the country’s immigration system. The change, announced Monday by the British High Commission in Abuja, affects all new Visit visa applicants and forms part of the UK government’s wider transition toward a fully digital border management system.
All Nigerian nationals applying for a UK Visit visa will receive an eVisa, rather than a vignette (sticker) in their passport from 25 February 2026, as the UK Visas and Immigration continues its transition to a fully digital border. Under the new system, an eVisa serves as a digital record of a person’s identity and immigration status. It shows details such as the type of visa granted, whether the holder has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, and the conditions attached to their stay, including permission to work or study. The announcement was made by Onyinye Madu, Senior Press and Public Affairs Officer at the British High Commission. The shift to digital visas is part of UKVI’s broader plan to implement a fully digital border system. The government says eVisas will cut fraud, speed up entry processing and pave the way for what it describes as “contactless corridors” at major airports including Heathrow and Manchester.
For Nigerian applicants, the procedural requirements for obtaining a visa remain unchanged. Applicants must still complete the standard online process, attend a Visa Application Centre to submit biometric data, and meet all existing eligibility requirements. The only difference is how the visa is issued. Rather than having a physical sticker applied to their passport, successful applicants will receive a secure electronic record of their immigration status linked to a free UKVI account, which they must create to access and present their visa details.
There is no fee to set up the UKVI account or to access the eVisa. Once an application is approved, applicants will receive instructions on how to log into their account and view the permission granted before travelling to the United Kingdom.
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The practical implications for travel extend beyond document handling. Airline agents will verify permission to travel through the Advance Passenger Information feed that already checks for Electronic Travel Authorisations and resident permits. CBP officers in the United States and Schengen border guards have been briefed through IATA messaging that UK eVisas are electronic only, though early transitional difficulties are expected at some international transit points. Business travellers and those on sponsored assignments will need to update onboarding procedures, as the visa will no longer appear as a physical sticker in the passport, a change that may cause initial confusion at third-country borders.
For holders of passports already containing valid vignette stickers, the transition requires no immediate action. Nigerians currently holding a valid vignette sticker do not need to take any action. Their physical visa remains valid until it expires or requires replacement.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja Gill Lever welcomed the transition and situated it within the bilateral relationship between the two countries. “We are committed to making it easier for Nigerians to travel to the UK. This move to digital visas will streamline a key part of the visa process, making it more secure while reducing dependence on paper documents. We look forward to continuing to welcome Nigerian visitors, students and workers to the UK,” she said.
The High Commission cited several operational advantages associated with the move. Passports will be returned more quickly, and travellers can manage their immigration status online at any time, from any location. The digital format offers stronger security as eVisas cannot be lost, stolen, or tampered with, the commission said. Processing timelines are also expected to shorten because passports will no longer need to be retained for physical visa endorsement.
The transition forms part of a broader plan to replace all physical immigration documents. Biometric Residence Permits have already been phased out and replaced with eVisas. The digital system will also replace Biometric Residence Cards and wet-ink stamps previously placed in passports.
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The United Kingdom is home to one of the largest Nigerian diaspora populations in the world, with an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 Nigerians living and working there, according to various government estimates. Nigeria also consistently ranks among the top source countries for UK student visa applications, skilled worker sponsorships, and visitor entries each year, making the administrative transition significant in scale for both the applicant base and consular operations.
Longer term, the Home Office plans to extend eVisas to all in-country categories, including settlement, by the end of 2026, bringing the UK in line with Australia’s fully digital immigration model. The February 25 rollout for Nigerian Visit visa applicants represents the most visible public-facing step yet in that broader program, and officials said the approach will eventually be applied uniformly across all visa categories issued to nationals of all countries.
Applicants who have already submitted applications before February 25 but are awaiting decisions may receive either a physical sticker or an eVisa depending on when their application is processed, the commission advised. Those uncertain about the format they will receive are encouraged to check their UKVI account once a decision is issued.
The February 25 start date marks the definitive end of the physical visa sticker format for new Visit visa applications by Nigerian nationals. No grace period for the old format has been announced beyond that date.
