The United Kingdom has threatened to impose visa bans on citizens of Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo unless all three nations agree to accept the return of irregular migrants living in Britain.
The warning came on Monday as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood prepared to unveil what officials describe as the most sweeping overhaul of the UK asylum system in decades.
According to the UK Home Office, Britain may stop issuing visas to nationals from the three countries due to what it calls their “unacceptably low levels of cooperation” in taking back migrants deemed to be illegally residing in the UK.
The move mirrors past hardline actions such as the Trump-era travel bans, signalling a tougher stance by the Labour government as it faces mounting political pressure over rising migration numbers.
Britain has witnessed a sharp increase in asylum seekers crossing the Channel from France in small boats. Mahmood’s reforms are widely seen as part of a broader effort to counter public frustration and halt the growing popularity of the far-right Reform UK party, which has surged ahead of Labour in several recent polls.
The Home Office added that more countries could face similar penalties. Proposed measures include an “emergency brake” that could temporarily suspend visas for nations with high asylum claim rates, even when their citizens enter the UK legally.
While asylum applications have risen, official data shows a decline in initial approvals issued between 2023 and 2024.
Meanwhile, the UK has continued to issue large numbers of visas through humanitarian pathways, particularly for people fleeing conflicts or crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
The new policy proposals also draw inspiration from Denmark’s restrictive asylum model. Some of the key changes would:
- abolish automatic benefits for asylum seekers
- significantly reduce protections for refugees
- shorten refugee status from five years to 30 months
- require refugees to undergo regular status reviews
- compel refugees to return home once their countries are deemed safe
- extend the waiting period for permanent residency from five years to 20 years
The plan has already generated strong criticism from humanitarian organisations, as well as several Labour MPs, who warn the reforms could place vulnerable people at increased risk.
