Amid Naira Devaluation, Nigerians Opt For Poland For Study And Emigration Over Pricier UK And US

The naira devaluation, which has led to a spike in tuition fees for countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, is making Nigerians to opt for cheaper alternatives for study and emigration.

The popular countries are Poland, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Canada and Australia, according to immigration consultants.

“The cost of migrating is more expensive now than two years ago because the naira keeps depreciating. Despite this, people are still leaving the country but to cheaper ones,” Dotun Adelke, an official at Management Education and Training Limited, said.

He said countries such as Australia, Poland, Czech Republic and Canada are easy to move to because of the available job opportunities through which immigrants can become citizens.

In June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) collapsed all segments of the foreign exchange market into the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window. Based on this adjustment, the naira depreciated from 463.38/$ to 789.08/$ as at Tuesday and from 576.65/£ to 990.05/£.

“The Mainland and Eastern Europe have always remained cheaper for studies. Nigerians are now looking at it more since the UK and US are now becoming out of reach for them. The average tuition fees in the UK is around £17,000, depending on the course and university,” Toyyib Adelodun, a UK-based immigration consultant, said.

He said the language barrier in some of the European countries has been a major issue for Nigerians. “But some of them don’t mind; they will adapt.”

“Some people are doing their proof of funds twice as a result of the high cost of pounds. The cost has also prevented those who were supposed to follow the last batch in September,” he added.

A recent report by Erudera, a global university and academic programme search platform, show that the average tuition fee for international students in Poland stands at €2,000 per year, with a living expense of €660–€887 per month.

The Czech Republic’s tuition fee is €6,250 with a monthly living expense of €823–€1,071, while Cyprus’s cost of living per month is €1,029–€1,259 with tuition fees around €6,834 annually.

“Most countries allow students to stay in the country after graduation, for a few months to a year, to search for employment,” Donjeta Pllana, data researcher at Erudera, said.

A master’s student in the UK told BusinessDay on condition of anonymity that his family is struggling to complete the second instalment of his school fees.

“The school is already threatening me with letters. I don’t want to go back to Nigeria. I might just have to follow some of my friends who are planning to go to Poland or Cyprus,” he said.

According to Ridwan Muhammed, chief executive officer at Astist Education Consulting, some students who depend on their families back home are finding it difficult to maintain their cost of living.

“Others that are working are not making enough money due to the limited number of working hours,” he said.

Higher education and work are the major means of achieving permanent emigration. But Nigeria’s economic challenges such as high inflation, unemployment and fragile economic growth are major factors driving citizens, especially the younger ones, to other countries for greener pastures.

Between October 2022 and March 2023, Nigerians spent $533.48 million for foreign education, according to the CBN.

Over the past few years, the UK has become one of the top study destinations for Nigerians. According to the British government, the number of Nigerians given sponsored study or student visas rose to 59,053 in 2022 from 6,798 in 2019.

Data from SBM Intelligence show that Nigerian students and their dependants contributed about £1.9 billion to the UK economy in 2021.

But the UK in May announced a visa restriction banning foreign students, including Nigeria from bringing their families into the country. The restriction, which comes into effect in January 2024, seeks to reduce the number of dependents of international students.

Last year, Nigerian dependants rose to 60,923, the highest in UK, from 1,586 in 2019.

“Most people who wanted to go with family before are now going alone, while others are considering trying the work visa, rather than the student one,” said Adelodun, the immigration consultant. “But jobs are harder to get than admissions.”

Although the average tuition fees for Canada (CA$20,000), depending on the course and university, is more expensive than other European countries; it is fast becoming a top choice to Nigerians as a result of its immigration opportunities.

“People are moving with their families to Canada because their pathway to becoming a permanent resident (PR) is easy compared to the UK,” said Muhammed of Astist Education Consulting.

Africa’s biggest economy recorded 22,130 PRs last year, up from 15,595 in the previous year, according to data from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.