According to the British Home Office, it is “unacceptable” the weak cooperation of Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of expulsions of illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom threatened this Monday to restrict the granting of visas to Angola and two other African countries that it accuses of not cooperating sufficiently to readmit their irregular citizens.
According to the British Home Office, it is “unacceptable” the weak cooperation of Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of expulsions of illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom.
Secretary of State for Asylum and Border Security, Alex Norris, warned that these three countries “they have one month” to improve the situationin an interview this Monday with Sky News station. The Ministry of the Interior argues that “Thousands of illegal migrants from these countries are currently in the United Kingdom.”
“Accept the return of your citizens or you will lose the privilege of entering our country”
Visa restrictions would apply to tourist visas and VIP visas, detailed the ministry, which states that the measures could be extended to other countries, especially those that have “high rates of asylum applications” of people who entered the UK legally.
“My message to foreign governments today is clear: accept the return of your citizens or you will lose the privilege of entering our country,” warned Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood, quoted in the statement.
The minister will present this Monday afternoon to Parliament a broad reform against irregular immigration, in a bid to reduce the arrival of migrants into the UK from northern France in rubber boats.
One of the measures is the reduction of protection granted to refugees
Among the measures already announced are the reduction of protection granted to refugees, who will be “forced to return to their home country as soon as it is deemed safe”, and the suppression of automatic access to social support for asylum seekers.
The Government also intends to speed up expulsions with the approval of a law that would regulate judicial appeals to the European Convention on Human Rights. Since January 1, 39,292 people have arrived in the United Kingdom aboard vessels across the English Channel, a number that exceeds the 36,816 recorded in 2024.
Asylum applications increased by 18% in 2024, while they decreased by 13% across the European Union in the same period, according to government data. More than 400 thousand requests have been registered since 2021, compared to 150 thousand in the period 2011-2015, still according to official figures.
Public dissatisfaction with high immigration values is a reason for criticism of the Labor Government elected last year, which fell in the polls, behind the Reformist Party, a radical right-wing populist anti-immigration party.
