Business visa · from Nigeria
UK business visa from Nigeria
Business travel to the UK is made on a Standard Visitor visa, not a separate business visa. The category permits a defined list of activities — meetings, negotiations, conferences, site visits, trade fairs — and specifically does not permit working for a UK business or being paid by one. The application succeeds on showing that what you will actually do falls inside that list.
Typical processing
15–25 business days (standard); 5 business days priority
Government fee, estimated
GBP 127 (standard visitor); GBP 500 priority
Paid to the mission, not to us
How this differs from a visitor application
The category is the same as a tourist visit, so the differentiator is the purpose evidence: who you are meeting, why, and what your role at home is that makes the trip necessary. It also introduces a risk a tourist application does not have — describing activities that amount to work, which is refused on the category rather than on your circumstances.
What this application needs in addition
On top of the standard documents for United Kingdom, which are listed in full on the destination page.
- ✓Invitation or meeting confirmation from the UK company or event organiser
- ✓Your company's CAC registration and evidence of its trading activity
- ✓A letter from your employer confirming your role, the purpose of the trip and who is paying
- ✓Conference or trade fair registration, where that is the purpose
- ✓Correspondence establishing the business relationship
- ✓Company and personal bank statements covering the trip
Where these applications go wrong
These are the failures our desk sees most often on this route. None of them is about the applicant being unqualified — they are all preparation.
Describing activities that count as work
Delivering services to a UK client, filling a role, or being paid by a UK source falls outside the visitor category. It is refused on what was described, not on the applicant.
The company cannot be verified
A business with no verifiable trading footprint behind the letterhead undermines the purpose of the trip. Registration alone is rarely enough on its own.
Frequent visits with no clear pattern
Repeated visitor entries that look like living in the UK in instalments attract refusal even where each individual trip was legitimate.
Not sure how strong your file is?
The free assessment takes about a minute and tells you what a consulate is likely to take issue with — and what would fix it — before you pay a government fee.
Questions people ask
Is there a separate UK business visa?
No. Business travel is made on the Standard Visitor visa under the permitted business activities. Asking for a category that does not exist is itself a sign of an unprepared application.
Can I sign a contract while in the UK?
Negotiating and signing contracts on behalf of your own business abroad is within the permitted activities. Performing the work of that contract in the UK is not.
Travelling to United Kingdom for another reason?
This page is first-time guidance, not a legal source. The embassy, consulate or immigration authority for your destination is the only authority on its own requirements, and they can change without notice. Fees shown are what the government charges and are estimates — they are paid by you to the mission, and Rayonner's processing fee is separate and quoted before you commit. No agency, including this one, decides or can guarantee the outcome of a visa application.