Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Three countries agree to take back thousands of migrants

Illegal migrants boarded onto return flights as Home Office announce largest deportation figures in a decade
  • Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood threatened visa sanctions on Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure the return of migrants who have no right to be in the UK.
  • The three African countries have now agreed to cooperate with the UK on the return of foreign national offenders, failed asylum seekers, and visa overstayers.
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo agreed after Ms Mahmood stripped VIPs and decision-makers of preferential visa treatment and revoked fast-track visas for its nationals.
  • The government estimates that more than 3,000 nationals from these three countries could now be removed from the UK due to these agreements.
  • These developments coincide with Ms Mahmood's plans to introduce significant changes to UK permanent settlement rules, including longer waiting periods, which have drawn criticism from Labour backbenchers.
In full

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in