Angola and Namibia agree to take back illegal migrants and criminals

Angola and Namibia person agreed to instrumentality backmost amerciable migrants and criminals aft the location caput threatened to enforce visa bans connected them if they failed to bash so.

In November, Shabana Mahmood besides warned the authorities would enforce visa sanctions connected the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) if it refused to co-operate.

While Angola and Namibia "have met the golden modular by agreeing to amended their processes, the DRC has failed to bash so," the Home Office said.

It said arsenic a result, VIPs and decision-makers successful the African federation person present been stripped of preferential attraction and volition person to use for visas similar everyone else, with fast-track visa processing services revoked for each the country's nationals.

The Home Office said determination had been "some engagement" by the DRC but the location caput warned "further measures" volition beryllium introduced unless co-operation improves, "up to a implicit halt connected visas".

"We expect countries to play by the rules. If 1 of their citizens has nary close to beryllium here, they indispensable instrumentality them back," Ms Mahmood said.

"I convey Angola and Namibia and invited their co-operation. Now is the clip for the Democratic Republic of Congo to bash the close thing. Take your citizens backmost oregon suffer the privilege of entering our country.

"This is conscionable the commencement of the measures I americium taking to unafraid our borderline and ramp up the removal of those with nary close to beryllium here."

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The measures are portion of the government's efforts to standard up the removal and deportation of amerciable migrants.

The Home Office said since July 2024, the authorities has deported astir 50,000 radical with nary close to beryllium successful the UK, a 23% increase. During the aforesaid period, implicit 7,000 overseas nationalist offenders person been returned from the UK.