New App Helps Nigerians Check Their Visa Documents Before Paying Non-Refundable Fees

A new technology platform, Approvable.app, has launched in Nigeria, giving visa applicants a way to find errors in their documents and fix them before paying non-refundable visa fees.

The platform, which opened its beta phase on Tuesday, November 3, helps applicants from Nigeria, Ghana and India check their readiness for visitor and study visa applications to the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Schengen area.

Its launch comes amid fresh statistics showing high visa refusal rates among Nigerian and Ghanaian applicants, particularly for travel to the UK, US and European countries.

According to the first edition of the Approvable.app Refusal Index, the United States recorded an adjusted visitor visa refusal rate of 57 per cent for Nigerians and 64 per cent for Ghanaians in the 2025 fiscal year, compared with 22 per cent for Indian applicants.

Similarly, the United Kingdom rejected 38 per cent of Nigerian visitor visa applications and 43 per cent of applications from Ghanaian nationals in the year ending March 2026. India's refusal rate stood at 18 per cent.

The report, which draws from official immigration statistics, also showed that Schengen countries rejected 48 per cent of Nigerian short-stay visa applications and 47 per cent of Ghanaian applications in 2025, compared with 16 per cent for India.

The figures further indicated that 64,941 UK visitor visa applications from Nigerians were refused in 2025, with each applicant losing the non-refundable application fee, now pegged at £135.

Approvable.app works in three steps. Applicants tell the app where they are going and why, upload their documents, and receive a readiness score with a plain-English list of what to fix before they apply. The app checks their documents and answers against the published requirements of the destination and the common grounds for refusal.

For applicants who have previously been refused, the platform also reads the refusal letter, explains each ground for rejection and helps them prepare a structured reapplication package.

Speaking on the launch, the founder, Taiwo Ojo, popularly known as Otunba JayTee Ojo, said many visa refusals stem from inconsistencies in supporting documents and poorly answered application questions, which applicants can address before submitting their applications.

"Every refusal is a fee that is gone, a trip that is missed and, often, a wedding, a graduation or a hospital bedside that a family does not get to," Ojo said.

"Most refusals come down to documents that do not agree with each other or a question answered badly. That is fixable before anyone pays, and that is what Approvable.app does."

Ojo also explained that the company developed the Refusal Index to make visa refusal statistics more accessible to applicants, promising to publish updated editions quarterly.

"We built the Refusal Index because applicants deserve to see the odds in plain English, with the government table beside every number," he added.

A technology leader with close to two decades of experience in IT service management, digital transformation and artificial intelligence governance, Ojo is also the co-founder and chief executive officer of Alluvium, an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner.

The platform operates on a one-time payment model, with no subscription. In Nigeria, a visitor visa review costs ₦49,999, while a reapplication package costs ₦89,999. Both are half price until November 30, 2026, at ₦25,000 and ₦45,000 respectively. A study visa review costs ₦174,999, or ₦87,500 during the launch period. Applicants who fix their documents can run the check again at no extra cost.

Similar services are available in Ghana and India, with prices in their local currencies.

The company clarified that Approvable.app is a document readiness and consistency assessment tool, not a law firm or regulated immigration advisory service. It does not provide immigration advice, represent applicants before government authorities or guarantee visa approvals. Applicants whose cases need professional immigration assistance are directed to official registers of regulated advisers.

The beta version is available at approvable.app, with mobile applications expected to follow. Applicants with questions can send a WhatsApp message to +234 806 447 0643.

For media enquiries: press@approvable.app