The United Kingdom government has approved emergency visa extensions for Nigerians and other foreign prison wardens facing deportation, warning that their removal could destabilise the country’s prison system already strained by chronic staff shortages and low pay.

Intense lobbying by Lord Timpson, minister of prison, yielded productive results on Friday as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood agreed to extend the visas of foreign nationals working in British prisons by one year in a temporary reprieve to allow officials explore a permanent solution.

The UK Prisons system resorted to hiring foreign hands due to a severe shortage of applications from British nationals. 

In July, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the salary ceiling for skilled worker visas to £41,700 as a strategy to reduce net migration. An average prison recruit only earns £33,000.

Hundreds of Nigerians, who make up a huge chunk of UK prison staff, were scheduled for deportation at year end given their salaries didn’t meet the revised skilled worker’s threshold. But the workers and their dependents are now temporarily exempted per the emergency visa extension.

A government spokesperson noted that while the government prioritised reduction of net migration, the safety of jails outweighed immigration concerns in the middle of a capacity crisis.

“Net migration has already fallen by more than two-thirds under this government. We are clear numbers must fall further as we create a migration system that is controlled and fair,” Sky News cited the spokesperson as saying.

“However, public safety is the first duty of any government and we must ensure jails can continue to run safely with the right level of experienced staff. This is vital given the prison capacity crisis we inherited.”