UK places visa sanctions on DR Congo over migrant returns

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Sir Keir Starmer’s government has halted the issuance of fast-track visas to people coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first time the UK has imposed visa sanctions on a country in a row over migrant returns.

In November, home secretary Shabana Mahmood warned the DR Congo, along with Angola and Namibia, that they would face visa penalties if co-operation did not improve on taking back failed asylum seekers and foreign offenders.

While Angola and Namibia agreed to improve their processes, the DR Congo failed to do so, according to the UK government.

As a result, fast-track visa processing services, which allow people to pay a fee to obtain speedier work, study and travel visas, have been revoked for all of the country’s nationals.

Senior decision makers and VIPs from the DR Congo will also be stripped of their right to preferential migration rules, and will instead have to apply for visas in the same way as other nationals.

Mahmood has warned the DR Congo that unless there is a rapid improvement in co-operation, further sanctions will be introduced, including potentially halting the issue of visas to all DR Congo nationals.

She said: “We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.”

She added: “I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.”

The sanctions mirror visa bans and travel restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump on almost 40 countries since he took office earlier this year. In a pre-Christmas address, Trump expanded the list while easing certain restrictions on countries including Turkmenistan, citing “significant progress” in its relations with Washington.

The UK visa sanctions form part of a suite of measures introduced by the Labour government over the past few months as it seeks to convince the public it has a workable plan to reduce small boat crossings to Britain.

The measures include ending asylum seekers’ automatic right to accommodation and increasing the time they typically have to wait before they are granted permanent settlement, from five to 20 years.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has asked British diplomats to take a more “transactional approach” to illegal migration, with embassies and high commissions told to play a role in the government’s efforts to reduce migration to Britain.

The interventions come at the end of a year in which small boat crossings to the UK have surged, with nearly 41,500 people having made the journey across the Channel so far this year, up from 36,800 last year.

The total is still lower than in 2022, when a record 45,774 people arrived on small boats.

The move to introduce visa sanctions marks the first time the UK has enacted powers that were introduced in legislation in 2022, under the previous Conservative government.