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UK threatens visa bans for Eritrea over migrant return policy
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the UK if Eritrea does not accept more returns of small boat migrants and foreign national offenders.
- Starting Thursday, Eritrean diplomats will face movement restrictions outside London, and fast-track visas for VIPs will be halted.
- Eritreans accounted for 18% of small boat migrant arrivals in the UK in the year to June, the highest among nationalities.
- The UK has previously threatened similar visa bans against Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with restrictions on the DRC recently lifted due to improved cooperation.
- So far this year, over 20,400 people have arrived in the UK by small boats, a 40% decrease from last year, while returns and deportations increased by 8% to over 40,600 from July 2025 to June this year.
