UK Threatens Eritrean Visa Ban Over Migrant Returns

The United Kingdom (UK) has threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the country unless Eritrea agrees to accept more migrants arriving by small boats and foreign nationals convicted of crimes.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the move alongside new restrictions on Eritrean diplomats. From Thursday, Eritrean diplomats will need permission to travel more than 60 kilometres outside London. The UK will also stop fast-track visas for VIPs.

The UK government said Eritrea had withdrawn its cooperation on returns earlier this year. Mahmood said the country had repeatedly refused to accept people who had no legal right to remain in the UK, including convicted criminals.

“Eritrea has had every chance to accept the return of criminals and those with no right to be in the UK. Unlike other countries, it has refused,” she said.

Mahmood added that she would not hesitate “to impose further measures on other countries refusing to co-operate”. However, Eritrea has rejected the UK’s move, describing it as a “perfunctory political gimmick”. Its embassy in London said the UK had not issued a visa to any Eritrean official since 2023.

The embassy also accused the UK of refusing to engage in “meaningful and appropriate dialogue”. It claimed British authorities had failed to disclose the return of criminals who were still serving prison sentences. It also disputed the UK’s description of some returns as voluntary, saying “clearly, they were not”.

The new restrictions on Eritrean diplomats mirror limits placed on British officials in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, according to the UK Home Office. Home Office figures show that only seven Eritreans were returned directly to Eritrea in the 12 months to June. A further 244 were returned to other countries.

During the same period, more than 5,800 Eritreans arrived in the UK by small boats. Another 1,300 received visas, mostly to join family members already living in the country. Eritreans accounted for 18 percent of small-boat arrivals in the 12 months to June, making them the most common nationality among those arriving through the route, according to the House of Commons Library.

However, Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said targeting Eritrea was unlikely to have a major impact on migration.

“Eritrea is one of the major countries of origin for asylum seekers coming to the UK — we had roughly 7,000 asylum applications in the last year of data, roughly 8% of the total,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

She said most Eritreans who claim asylum in the UK are not eligible for removal because their applications are often successful.

“Most Eritreans who come and claim asylum are not removable at all — the government would never be in negotiations to remove them because 84% are successful at initial decision; more will be successful on appeal,” she said.

Sumption added that about 1,400 Eritreans were initially refused asylum, although the number could fall after appeals. Many Eritreans leave their country to escape military conscription, which can last for decades. Eritrea has been ruled as a one-party state since independence from Ethiopia in 1993. It has not held a national election, and independent media are not permitted.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Eritrean government of widespread repression, including forced labour, conscription and restrictions on freedom of expression. Critics of President Isaias Afwerki have faced long periods in detention, often without trial. The country also restricts which religious groups can operate legally.

The UK has previously threatened visa restrictions against countries that refuse to accept its citizens being returned. Earlier this year, it warned Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that they could face similar measures.

The Home Office said it had lifted restrictions on the DRC after cooperation on returns improved. Angola and Namibia agreed to changes before restrictions were introduced.

However, Sumption said the UK could be reluctant to target countries with stronger trade and migration links because of the wider effects of a visa ban. She cited Pakistan and Bangladesh as countries with high numbers of people refused asylum who have not been returned, but said restrictions could affect international students and workers.

Meanwhile, Home Office data show that more than 20,400 people have arrived in the UK by small boats so far this year, a 40 percent decrease compared with the same period last year.

The UK also recorded more than 40,600 returns and deportations between July 2025 and June 2026, an eight per cent increase on the previous 12 months. Fewer than 6,000 of those returned had been convicted of a criminal offence.