UK announces visa ban on nations that refuse to take back their citizens being deported

TOI correspondent from London: PoK-origin UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced Monday that Trump-style visa bans will be imposed on countries unless they accept the return of their criminals and illegal immigrants, as she revealed further sweeping reforms to tackle illegal immigration.The first countries to face such a ban are Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo whose nationals will no longer be granted UK visas unless their govts rapidly improve cooperation on removals. “These countries face penalties for their unacceptably low co-operation and obstructive returns processes. Thousands of illegal migrants and criminals from these nations are currently in the UK,” the home office said.Non-cooperation includes embassies failing to process removals paperwork in time and requiring individuals to sign their own documentation — allowing them to block their own deportation.India is thought to be one of several other countries most resistant to taking back illegal migrants and could join the list over the coming year, the Times (UK) reported.Human rights laws will also be overhauled to scale up deportations and prevent migrants from “gaming the system”.UK’s govt will legislate to reform how Article 8 (the right to family and private life) is interpreted by the courts to make clear a family connection means immediate family, such as a parent or child — blocking people from using dubious connections to stay in the UK. It will also work with partners at the Council of Europe to address the “over-expansive application” of Article 3 (protection against inhuman and degrading treatments) which migrants are also using to block their removal and introduce new legislation to crack down on “migrants making last-minute bogus modern slavery claims”. Migrants will be restricted to arguing all legal grounds within a single appeal and, if they lose, they will be forced to leave.New capped work and study routes for genuine refugees will be created who will be referred through partners such as the UNHCR. British people will be encouraged to house them, as they have done for Ukrainians, to end the reliance on asylum hotels, which cost £2.1 billion in 2024-2025.In the year ending June 2025 a total of 5,475 Indian nationals claimed asylum in the UK making them the sixth-largest nationality. Of these, 346 Indians arrived by small boat illegally. The other Indians were mostly on visas, with student visas being the most common. The top nationality to claim asylum was Pakistani; followed by nationals from Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea and Bangladesh.Only 20 Indians were granted asylum in the year ending June 2025, and 2,691 had their claims refused.