For the benefit of those meeting you for the first time. Can you tell us more about yourself?
Yes. I am Tokunbo Olagbaiye, I’m an immigration lawyer, I work with Brightway Immigration and Asylum Practitioners in the United Kingdom.
*How long have you been practicing?
I have been in this industry for over 17 years.
*How would you define your experience since you have been working as immigration?
To be honest, I don’t have immigration experience, because I was born in the UK. However, I grew up in Nigeria.
What are the challenges and major issues faced by immigrants?
Undoubtedly, it is Inability to secure employment without the right document.
How can these challenges be effectively curbed?
Every immigrant must come to the UK with the right visa that allows them to work.
Can you outline some of the opportunities available for those planning to settle in the United Kingdom?
There are several opportunities available. Some of them include: Job opportunities, good education, serene atmosphere, and certain security.
Kindly name category of visas available to immigrants?
There are several visas available. Student visa, Family visa, Work and Business visas and so on.
What are the key factors to be considered when selecting a particular type of visa?
If it will give the right to work. It is as simple as that.
What are the types of jobs available for application in the United Kingdom?
All jobs are available, from cleaning to the head of departments.
In what ways have you been of value and what are your impacts to the country’s immigration system?
I have educated people on the right visa at the appropriate time, and also, I always counsel people to desist from the notion of overstaying. Doing this, I have assisted the government to reduce the number of people that outstay their welcome in the United Kingdom. I was a conveyancing solicitor, I changed to immigration when the UK economy suffered a major blow in 2007. I diverged because I wanted to connect to the ordinary people; to free them from the immigration problem.
“Women in the diaspora work harder, however, some of them have become more laid-back due to the money received from the government. Women in Nigeria are more independent, self-reliant, because there’s no funding from the government.”
I must lay emphasis on this as well, despite the bad economy of any nation; a girl is expected to be nurtured until the time of marriage. “Travelling to a foreign country should be an adult decision; and these faults should not be attributed to the agencies although, sometimes there are misconceptions, but that does not mean those who depend on agents for their documents should not do their findings on the country they are planning to go”.
