Kenyans planning to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) will now acquire their visas within three weeks of application.
UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriot said the process of applying for the visas has been normalised after a six-month delay.
"Six months ago, I promised we would get our visa service for Kenyans traveling to the United Kingdom back on track.
"I’m pleased we’re now at normal customer service standards - a decision should take just three weeks, with faster priority services available," she wrote on her Twitter page.
UK visa delays
In July last year, Marriot urged Kenyans who were planning to travel to the UK to plan six weeks in advance due to delays in visas.
"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.
Marriot stated 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 added.
