UK ban on Eritreans threatened by Shabana Mahmood over returns policy
A UK ban on Eritreans entering the country could be imposed unless Eritrea agrees to take back rejected asylum seekers and criminals with no right to remain, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned.
UK ban on Eritreans threatened by Shabana Mahmood over returns policy
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned that Eritreans could face a complete ban on entering the UK unless the Eritrean government restores cooperation on returns. According to the Home Office, Eritrea abruptly withdrew returns cooperation earlier this year.
Take back your nationals or face a complete ban
Mahmood said Eritrea has refused to accept the return of criminals and people with no right to be in the UK. Her ultimatum was set out directly:
My message to the Eritrean government is simple: take back your nationals or face a complete ban on your citizens entering the UK.
She also said she would not hesitate to impose further measures on other countries refusing to cooperate on returns.
Visa penalties already in force
Eritrean VIPs and officials have already been stripped of fast-track access to UK visas after their government refused to cooperate. The warning to Eritrea follows earlier action against other states:
- Similar threats of UK visa sanctions were made against Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2025.
- Angola and Namibia then agreed to cooperate on migrant returns.
- The DRC faced visa restrictions before reaching an agreement with the UK in February.
- In March, ministers placed an emergency brake on visas for nationals from four countries.
- Study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan were halted, as were work visas for Afghans.
Low deportation numbers and high arrivals
The returns record with Eritrea is limited: just over 100 refused asylum seekers have been deported out of 2,626 whose claims were rejected in the past four years, fewer than 4%. Meanwhile, Eritreans were the most common nationality arriving by small boat in the year ending June 2026, with nearly 6,000 crossing the Channel in that year - the highest of any nationality.
Beyond Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Somalia, Egypt and Gabon have been identified as resistant to taking back illegal migrants and could face sanctions.
Asylum success rates and refugee concerns
Madeleine Sumption of the Migration Observatory said roughly 7,000 asylum applications came from Eritreans, about 8% of the total. About 84% are successful on first application, and more will be successful on appeal, she said. On the government's options, she noted: "There are different types of threats that can be made such as stopping student visas, or stopping visit visas".
Refugee organisations warned that the UK should not reject Eritrean applicants, arguing it is a war-torn country and the UK usually accepts the vast majority of applicants.
