UK threatens to cut visas for countries that refuse to accept migrants
The UK could cut the number of visas granted to countries that delay or refuse returns of individuals with no right to remain in the UK, warns new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
In her first major engagement in post, Mahmood reached an agreement with her counterparts from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – collectively known as the Five Eyes – to help boost the return of individuals who have no legal basis to remain in any of the partner countries.
The agreement establishes clear obligations for countries to accept the return of individuals who have no legal right to remain, aiming to build international consensus and accelerate the removal process.
In cases where non-cooperative countries are unwilling to accept the enforced repatriation of their own nationals, this could lead to new measures, including appropriate adjustments to visa arrangements to reflect changes in immigration risk, Mahmood said.
“Abuse of our immigration system is a serious threat to public safety – and it is one we are confronting alongside our closest allies. This announcement sends a clear message to anyone seeking to undermine our border security. If you have no legal right to remain in the UK, we will deport you. If countries refuse to take their citizens back, we will take action.
“The reset of relationships with our international partners under this government, as part of the Plan for Change, is bearing fruit, with returns and disruption of criminal networks up since July last year. Now, we must go further,” she said.
Mahmood said that the agreements build on measures successfully delivered by the government in its first year, including the removal of over 35,000 individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK, nearly tripling the ‘Deport Now, Appeal Later’ scheme to cover 23 countries, strengthening existing returns arrangements, and securing new returns processes – including landmark agreements with France and Iraq.
