Britain has reached agreements with Angola and Namibia to take back illegal migrants and criminal offenders, the UK Home Office said late on Saturday.
Britain has reached agreements with Angola and Namibia to take back illegal migrants and criminal offenders, the UK Home Office said late on Saturday.
Business Insider Africa had earlier reported that the Home Office warned Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that travel restrictions could be imposed unless they improved cooperation on repatriating their citizens, underscoring rising tensions over immigration compliance.
The DRC has now been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential treatment for senior officials after failing to meet Britain’s requirements on returns cooperation, Reuters reported.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK could go further and impose a full visa suspension on the DRC unless “co-operation rapidly improves.”
“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back,” the Home Secretary added.
New immigration reforms accelerate deportations
The moves represent the first significant steps under reforms announced last month aimed at making refugee status temporary and accelerating the removal of people who enter the UK illegally.
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Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK has removed more than 50,000 people with no right to remain since July last year, a 23% increase compared with the previous period, adding that diplomats have been instructed to prioritise deportation agreements.
The UK’s stance emphasises the growing use of visa policy as a diplomatic lever to force cooperation on migrant returns.
The restrictions are intended to pressure governments to meet their obligations on repatriation, a tactic that has also been adopted by other European countries, including Germany and France, in dealings with African states.
