By Solomon Ekanem
Publication Date: 2025-11-17 17:12:00
According to the Home Office, visas from these countries will be refused unless their governments accept the return of convicted criminals and people residing illegally in the UK.
The warning comes from what the Home Office describes as “unacceptably low cooperation and obstructive return processes.”
The BBC reports that thousands of citizens from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo currently remain in the UK without legal status.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood made the UK’s position clear: “Accept the return of your citizens or lose the privilege of entering our country.”
The wave of deportations to third countries
The UK’s announcement comes amid a wider international trend of stricter deportation measures targeting third-country nationals.
The United States under the Trump administration accelerated efforts to repatriate foreign nationals, often tying immigration enforcement to diplomatic influence and threatening visa restrictions for countries unwilling to accept deportees.
However, in the case of Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo the situation is different. These are not deportations to third countries; rather, the United Kingdom demands that these nations cooperate and accept the return of its own citizens who are in the UK illegally or have committed crimes.
Visa restrictions are designed as leverage to force these governments to fulfill their responsibilities to facilitate repatriation.
European nations, including Germany and France, have also increasingly put pressure on African governments to improve cooperation on the return of their citizens.
Some African countries have complied with these policies, citing legal obligations and international agreements. Others, however, have resisted, pointing to weak internal infrastructure, concerns about the treatment of returnees or political sensitivities.
The UK’s warning highlights the growing use of visa policies as a diplomatic tool to force cooperation.
Analysts say the move could strain relations with targeted nations. Accepting deportees requires administrative capacity, security measures and integration strategies, challenges for countries already facing economic and political pressures.
For the United Kingdom, the policy indicates an increasingly assertive stance in controlling migration flows, while attempting to manage risks related to undocumented residents.
For Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ministry of the Interior’s ultimatum highlights what is at stake: non-compliance could limit the travel of thousands of citizens, affecting not only tourism but also commercial and educational exchanges.
How these governments respond in the coming months could reshape the migration and diplomatic dynamics between Africa and the United Kingdom.