UK curbs DRC visas, announces migrant return deals with Angola, Namibia

The United Kingdom has imposed visa restrictions connected the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accusing its authorities of failing to cooperate with its caller argumentation connected the instrumentality of undocumented migrants and those who perpetrate transgression offences.

The UK Home Office announced the measures successful a connection precocious connected Saturday. It besides said that Angola and Namibia person agreed to measurement up efforts to instrumentality backmost their citizens.

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The agreements people the archetypal large alteration nether sweeping reforms unveiled by Secretary of State for the Home Department Shabana Mahmood past period to marque exile presumption impermanent and velocity up the deportation of those who get without documents successful the UK.

There was nary contiguous remark from the DRC, Angola oregon Namibia.

The Home Office said the DRC failed to conscionable the UK’s requirements for practice and has present been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential attraction for VIPs and determination makers.

Mahmood said the UK could escalate measures to a implicit halt of visas for the DRC unless practice rapidly improves.

“We expect countries to play by the rules. If 1 of their citizens has nary close to beryllium here, they indispensable instrumentality them back,” she said.

“I convey Angola and Namibia and invited their co-operation. Now is the clip for the Democratic Republic of Congo to bash the close thing. Take your citizens backmost oregon suffer the privilege of entering our country.

“This is conscionable the commencement of the measures I americium taking to unafraid our borderline and ramp up the removal of those with nary close to beryllium here,” she added.

Prime Minister Keir Streamer’s centre-left authorities unveiled sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum strategy past month, including drastically cutting protections for refugees and their children, arsenic portion of a bid to stem the arrivals of irregular migrants that person fuelled rising choler connected the far-right.

More than 39,000 people, galore fleeing conflict, person arrived successful the UK connected tiny boats this year, much than for the full of 2024 but little than the grounds acceptable successful 2022, erstwhile the Conservatives were successful power.

Mahmood told lawmakers that the reforms, modelled connected Denmark’s strict asylum system, would discourage refugees and asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel from France connected tiny boats.

She described the existent strategy arsenic “out of power and unfair”, adding that it was an “uncomfortable truth” that the authorities indispensable face.

Under the reforms, exile presumption volition go impermanent and volition beryllium reviewed each 30 months. Refugees volition beryllium forced to instrumentality to their location countries erstwhile those are deemed safe.

They volition besides request to hold for 20 years, alternatively of the existent five, earlier they tin use for imperishable residency.

The authorities has besides said it volition legislate to marque it harder for irregular migrants and overseas criminals to usage the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR) to halt deportation.

Since July past year, the UK has “removed much than 50,000 radical with nary close to remain”, a 23 percent summation connected the erstwhile period, and instructed diplomats to marque returns a apical priority, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper said.

The argumentation has been facing criticism, however, with Mark Davies, a erstwhile advisor to the Foreign Office, calling it “shameful” and a departure from “Britain’s historical committedness to enactment refugees”.

Former Labour person Jeremy Corbyn besides described the argumentation arsenic “draconian”, adding that it tries to “appease the astir ghastly, racist right-wing forces each crossed Europe”, portion undermining the UN Convention connected Human Rights.

Enver Solomon, main enforcement of the Refugee Council, urged the authorities to reconsider, informing the plans “will not deter” crossings, and that refugees who enactment hard should beryllium capable to physique “secure, settled lives”.

Official figures cited by the AFP quality bureau showed that asylum claims successful the UK are astatine a grounds high, with astir 111,000 applications made successful the twelvemonth to June 2025.

But the fig of archetypal affirmative decisions the UK authorities granted fell from 2023 to 2024.

Most asylum seekers and refugees get successful the UK legally. Net migration reached a grounds precocious of 906,000 successful the twelvemonth to June 2023, earlier it fell to 431,000 successful 2024, partially reflecting the tighter rules.