Britain said it will impose visa restrictions on travellers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after the central African country failed to agree to measures allowing the return of irregular migrants and foreign national offenders, the Home Office said.
Under the move, fast-track visa processing for Congolese nationals will be suspended, while preferential treatment for senior figures including politicians and so-called VIPs will be scrapped, officials said. The measures mark the first application of visa penalties threatened under the UK government’s newly tightened asylum and immigration rules.
Ministers said the DRC had not made the changes demanded by London following reforms announced in November aimed at accelerating removals and deportations. A government source said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood would not hesitate to extend similar sanctions to other countries that refuse to take back their citizens.
“The Democratic Republic of Congo has failed to co-operate on returns,” a Home Office spokesperson said, adding that the restrictions would remain in place until progress was made.
By contrast, Angola and Namibia which had been warned they could face similar sanctions — have agreed to step up efforts to accept the return of their nationals, the Home Office said. The department described their commitments as the “first delivery success” stemming from last month’s asylum reforms.
London had warned it would suspend visa access for citizens of Angola, Namibia and the DRC unless their governments rapidly improved cooperation on removals. A Home Office source said the agreements reached with Angola and Namibia could result in the deportation and removal of thousands of people from the UK.
Under the government’s new immigration framework, refugee status will become temporary rather than permanent, guaranteed housing support for asylum seekers will be phased out, and new capped “safe and legal routes” into the UK will be created. The reforms are part of a broader push by the Labour government to reduce irregular migration while maintaining controlled pathways for those deemed eligible for protection.
Announcing the changes last month, Mahmood warned that visa penalties would be applied to countries that failed to cooperate with UK returns policies. She also outlined an “emergency brake” allowing ministers to restrict visas from countries with high numbers of asylum claims until they agree to take back citizens who have no legal right to remain in Britain.
The Home Office has repeatedly complained that removals to the DRC, Angola and Namibia were being blocked by bureaucratic delays, including refusals to process travel documents or demands that individuals sign their own deportation papers a requirement UK officials say gives migrants an effective veto over their removal.
“These were unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes,” a Home Office source said, adding that such practices undermined the credibility of the asylum system.
While officials acknowledged there had been some engagement from Kinshasa, they warned that further measures could follow if cooperation does not improve quickly. Those measures could include a complete ban on visas for Congolese nationals, the Home Office said.
Mahmood struck a firm tone, saying the government was determined to enforce its rules. “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 said.
“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,” she added.
The visa curbs come as the UK faces sustained pressure to reduce asylum backlogs and irregular migration, an issue that has dominated political debate in recent years. Successive governments have argued that effective returns agreements are essential to deterring people from attempting to stay in the country illegally.
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Critics, however, have warned that visa sanctions risk straining diplomatic ties and could disproportionately affect ordinary travellers, students and businesspeople, rather than the governments responsible for returns policies.
For now, the Home Office says the measures against the DRC are targeted and reversible but insists they signal a tougher approach to countries it says are failing to meet their obligations under international migration arrangements.
