In a significant escalation of its “transactional” diplomacy, the UK government has successfully secured migrant return agreements with Angola and Namibia, while simultaneously slapping punitive visa curbs on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The announcement, made by the Home Office late on Saturday, December 27, 2025, marks the first major use of “visa leverage” under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s sweeping new asylum and returns framework.
Following a 30-day ultimatum issued in November, both Angola and Namibia have formalized new processes to accept their nationals who have no legal right to remain in Britain.
The two Southern African nations have agreed to streamline paperwork and identity verification, removing previous bottlenecks where migrants could effectively block their own deportations by refusing to sign travel documents.
By cooperating, both countries have avoided a total “visa blackout” that would have grounded their business travellers, students, and tourists.
While these countries account for a small percentage of irregular arrivals, the Home Office views these deals as a blueprint for future agreements with larger “non-compliant” states.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has become the first nation to face direct sanctions for what the UK calls an “unacceptably poor and obstructive” returns process.
More so, preferential treatment has been revoked, senior officials and “decision-makers” must now apply for visas like ordinary citizens, with no expedited service. Just as fast-track services have been halted. Priority and Super Priority visa processing has been suspended for all DRC nationals.
With UK Home Secretary Mahmood warning of a “complete halt on all visas” unless cooperation “rapidly improves” in the coming weeks.
“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.” – Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary.
This “hard-line” shift is part of a broader strategy led by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who has instructed the UK’s global diplomatic network to make “returns” a top priority in bilateral relations.
The government reported that since July 2024, nearly 50,000 people have been removed from the UK, a 23% increase compared to the previous year.
These moves coincide with the “Restoring Order and Control” White Paper, which aims to make refugee status temporary and push permanent settlement eligibility to 20 years.
