Angola and Namibia agree to take back illegal migrants after visa ban threat
Two African countries have agreed to step up efforts to take back their citizens deported from Britain after the home secretary threatened a visa ban.
Shabana Mahmood said last month that she could stop issuing visas to foreign nationals in certain countries if foreign governments did not step up co-operation on removing illegal immigrants from the UK.
Ms Mahmood noted that Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the first countries to face a possible ban, although these three countries account for a very small proportion of visas issued.
The Home Office said these countries had frustrated efforts to eliminate thousands of illegal immigrants and criminals.
Saying they have “unacceptably weak and obstructive return processes”, the organization accused countries of refusing to process paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents, allowing them to effectively block their own deportation.
Angola and Namibia have agreed new processes by which the UK could extradite illegal immigrants and foreign national criminals in the coming months, the Home Office said.
The UK has canceled fast-track visas and stopped granting preferential visas to diplomats and VIPs in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a warning over its failure to make changes.
There have been some initiatives from the country since then, but Ms Mahmood again warned that she was willing to take further action.
A government source said the home secretary “will not hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries that refuse to take back their citizens”.
Ms Mahmood said: “We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they should take him back.”
“I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their cooperation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take back your citizens, or you will lose the privilege of entering our country.
“This is just the beginning of the measures I am taking to secure our border and expedite the removal of those who have no right to be here.”
Ms Mahmood last month unveiled sweeping reforms aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to deport people who have no right to be in the country.
The three countries under threat of visa bans are not among the most common nationalities of immigrants entering the UK legally or illegally.
By June, they were a tiny fraction of the more than 800,000 visas issued for employment, education, family or humanitarian reasons; of these, 299 were visas from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 273 for Angolan nationals, and 140 from Namibia.
And they made up only a handful of illegal immigrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called “irregular” routes during the time period in question; only 11 of these came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three from Angola, and none from Namibia.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal immigration as part of efforts to speed up returns.
He said: “I have instructed our worldwide diplomatic network to make returns a top priority and today’s announcement shows that we can achieve faster results when countries work with us.
“People who come to the UK illegally, overstay their visas or commit crimes in our country should expect to be sent back, and we will continue to ask for their government’s cooperation in this process.”
Nearly 50,000 people have been deported from the UK and more than 7,000 foreign-born criminals have been sent back since Labor entered government in July 2024.
