The United Kingdom has reached agreements with Namibia Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo to accept the return of their citizens residing illegally in the country following threats of visa sanctions from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Namibia and Angola finalized their agreements in December 2025 while the DRC has now joined the cooperation framework.
The Home Secretary emphasized that countries refusing to cooperate with returns will face consequences. Officials noted that delays in processing paperwork and requirements forcing individuals to sign their own return documents had hindered deportations in the past.
The agreements open the way for the removal of more than 3,000 people from the three countries who are now eligible for deportation. In the year ending September 2025 the UK carried out 36,475 returns and deportations an 11 percent increase from the previous year. Approximately 5,000 of those removed were foreign national offenders with 48 percent from EU countries and 52 percent from non EU states.
The government warned that countries that refuse to cooperate with returns should not expect normal visa relationships and that further sanctions may follow. India Pakistan Nigeria Bangladesh Somalia and Gabon remain resistant to return agreements.
These measures are part of the UK strategy to curb illegal migration particularly from individuals attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats which rose by 13 percent to 41,472 last year. The government is also reviewing the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights to make deportations easier.
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