UK gives Angola, Namibia and DRC one month to cooperate on deportations or face a suspension of tourist and VIP visas as part of sweeping new migration reforms.
The United Kingdom has warned that it may impose visa restrictions on nationals from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), accusing the three countries of failing to cooperate with the deportation of their citizens who no longer have a legal right to remain in Britain.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that the governments involved have been given one month to demonstrate “meaningful progress” in accepting the return of deportees. If they do not, she said, London will suspend the issuance of tourist and VIP visas to their citizens. The measure, she added, could later be expanded to other countries with high numbers of asylum applicants who entered the UK legally.
“My message to foreign governments today is clear: accept the return of your nationals or you will lose the privilege of being able to enter our country,” Mahmood said in a statement released in London.
According to the Home Office, “thousands” of Angolan, Namibian and Congolese nationals are currently living in the UK illegally after their asylum claims were rejected. Officials say the rate of non-cooperation from the three governments has slowed deportation processes to a near standstill.
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Mahmood is expected to outline the full details of her new immigration reform package before Parliament on Monday. The proposals form part of the government’s strategy to curb irregular arrivals, particularly those travelling across the English Channel in small boats — a politically contentious issue that has fuelled support for the anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Under the reforms, asylum seekers would need to wait 20 years before becoming eligible for permanent settlement, a significant increase from the current five-year threshold. Their status would be reassessed every two and a half years to determine whether conditions in their home country have improved sufficiently for them to return.
The government also plans to end automatic access to social benefits for asylum seekers and introduce a law aimed at limiting appeals under the European Convention on Human Rights, a change expected to accelerate deportations. Mahmood is further set to propose that asylum seekers with financial assets contribute to the cost of their accommodation, though sentimental belongings such as wedding rings would be exempt from seizure.
Nearly 40,000 people have arrived in the UK on small boats so far this year, an increase compared with 2024, underscoring the political urgency driving the reforms.