| Only specialised lawyers
can handle immigration applications
By OLA AGBAJE
Wednesday,
November 21, 2007
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Barr. Bamidele Igbinedion
Photo: SunNews Publishing
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Nigerians have been advised to ensure that their cases are
handled by lawyers with sound knowledge of Immigration Law.
United Kingdom-based Nigerian legal practitioner and immigration
expert, Bamidele Igbinedion, gave the advice while speaking
to Daily Sun on the plight of desperate Nigerians
seeking to travel abroad.
According to Igbinedion, “Ignorance of the knowledge
of the U.K and overseas immigration law is a fundamental problem,”
adding: “Out of desperation, people patronise just anybody
who claims to be a lawyer. It is not enough to be a lawyer.
They should ascertain that the person is knowledgeable about
U.K Immigration Law. It is a huge body of law.”
He spoke further on his experience and misconception about
U.K by intending immigrants and other sundry issues on immigration.
Practice
I have been in practice ever since I was called to the Bar,
but my qualification as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of
England and Wales was like the icing on the cake as it gives
international dimension to my practice. I took my re-qualification
with the College of the Law in U.K. In order to provide quality
immigration service to Nigerians, we established a firm, Wisdom
International Law firm, in Nigeria which I am the managing
partner. It is a branch of a sister firm in the United Kingdom,
Wisdom Development Company Limited.
Essentially, we decided to bring our expert services to the
local environment because of some serious issues involved.
Nigerians and immigration plight
All over Europe today, there are several Nigerians being chased
about by immigration officials of the host countries due to
their poor knowledge of the immigration laws of those countries.
The attendant effect is a colossal national embarrassment
which should be a source of concern to everybody. As a solicitor,
one is often at pains most of the time when we discover that
these young Nigerians do not know anything about the basic
rules and regulations guiding their entrance into foreign
countries.
Major obstacle to successful application
The number one fundamental obstacle is ignorance. People just
patronise any quack agents out of desperation. The papers
are “cooked” to take them outside the country
by such dubious agents who would just dump them in the cold
in the unknown land. And you know, Europe is not like here.
The system is such that you’re likely to get caught
earlier than you ever imagined. There are no hard rules about
processing a successful application. All you need to do is
to follow the laid down rules that relate to different categories
of people.
Truth about intention
For you to have a successful visa application process, it
is important that you tell the truth about your intention.
Many people traveled to U.K with wrong visa categories. When
that happens, they would only land themselves in trouble sooner
than later. If you state the truth of your intention, we can
direct you to go for the correct programme and assist you
to access it. This is essential because virtually every category
of people is provided for under the current UK immigration
law.
The categories include students, working holiday maker, resident
permit, joining relatives who are residents in the UK, work
permit, highly skilled migrant programme, right of abode,
returning resident, self employed etc.
Wrong perception about UK
The general perception that the UK embassy does not like to
give visa to Nigerians is wrong. Although I don’t want
to be seen as holding brief for the UK, the problem with Nigerians
is that we are presumptuous. We believe that because you are
a chief, they must give you visa even though you do not have
the requirements. It does not work like that in the UK. Nigerians
need to understand the law, culture and mindset of average
UK visa officer in the embassy. He has been trained not to
think much of your status.
The length of processing
It is not usually a lengthy period. It all depends on your
ability to collate the required documents on line. Once that
has been done, the visa could be produced within one week
to a month. And we have several experiences to buttress that
claim. In cases of refusal of application, we can appeal against
the refusal to ensure that such a case is redressed and justice
based on fairplay and enquiry is done.
Trust
Trust is not transferable. It is what you earn. We are not
appealing for trust. Many people, out of desperation, use
all sorts of means to travel out of the country and land themselves
in trouble. We are only interested in helping them to get
what they want through lawful means. Our record speaks for
us. So anyone interested can access our services through our
offices in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Benin City and Port Harcourt.
If anybody requests for our performance record, we would give.
We also have an outlet in Accra, Ghana where we take care
of those in that country.
How to avoid fraudsters
Well, it is simple. Intending applicants should endeavour
to crosscheck and confirm if the person handling their matter
has been trained in UK Immigration Law. It is not just enough
that the person is a lawyer. UK Immigration Law is a huge
body of law on its own and it is constantly being updated.
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