Obinze is an educated Nigerian man living in London after his short-term visa expires. Raised in a relatively privileged environment by a university lecturer, he initially views Western culture as an ideal escape from Nigeria's political instability. Once in the United Kingdom, he faces the difficult reality of undocumented life, taking menial jobs and adopting a false identity to secure warehouse work. His experiences strip away his former status, forcing him to make ethical compromises to remain in the country.

Cleotilde is a young woman of Portuguese and Angolan descent living in the United Kingdom. She agrees to participate in an arranged marriage scheme to fund her dream of attending fashion school and to assist her mother. Despite having never visited Angola, she speaks of Africa with deep admiration and curiosity. She balances her pragmatic approach to the marriage arrangement with a genuine, growing attraction to her prospective husband.

The nameless immigration officer acts as the enforcer of the state's stringent immigration rules. He represents the bureaucratic, unsympathetic system that undocumented individuals fear on a daily basis. By treating migrants as mere cases rather than human beings, he embodies the broader societal indifference directed at those seeking a new life.

Vincent is a Nigerian immigrant residing in the United Kingdom who holds legal working status. Coming from a less privileged background than Obinze, he relishes the power reversal they experience in London. He allows Obinze to use his name and National Insurance number but ruthlessly demands a massive cut of the resulting wages. He frequently switches between Nigerian English and an affected British accent.

Iloba is a childhood acquaintance of Obinze from Nigeria who has settled in London. Known for a relentless cheerfulness that Obinze often finds grating, Iloba is extremely welcoming to his old classmate. He serves as a vital bridge for Obinze, introducing him to the underground network required to find work without proper documentation.

Obinze's mother is a principled university lecturer in Nigeria who endures the country's turbulent political and economic conditions. Acknowledging her son's singular focus on escaping to the West, she sets aside her strict honesty to help him. She secures his six-month visa to the United Kingdom by falsely listing him as her research assistant.

Roy is the manager at the British warehouse who hires Obinze under the false identity of Vincent. He appreciates hard work and consistently assigns the best-paying tasks to Obinze. Roy provides a rare source of stability and workplace approval for Obinze, entirely unaware of his employee's undocumented status.

Nigel is a young, working-class British man employed at the same warehouse as Obinze. He operates alongside Obinze on delivery routes, providing unintentional lessons on the local culture. Nigel judges customers by their accents rather than their hospitality, confusing Obinze with his unfamiliar social standards.

The Angolans are a pair of men operating a lucrative underground business in London. They arrange marriages between undocumented immigrants and European citizens. Though they share the immigrant experience, they treat their desperate clients with a slight condescension, fully aware of the power they hold over those seeking citizenship.