DR Congo to Receive Returned Migrants Following UK Visa Curbs
Last update: February 6, 2026
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London hails return deal as proof visa restrictions can force cooperation on deportations.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed to accept the return of irregular migrants from the United Kingdom after London imposed visa restrictions on Congolese nationals, the UK interior ministry said Friday.
In December, the British government revoked fast-track visa processing for citizens of DR Congo and withdrew preferential visa treatment for senior officials and decision makers. It also warned that broader visa suspensions could follow.
The measures were imposed over what the UK described as Kinshasa’s poor cooperation in accepting the return of irregular migrants and Congolese nationals convicted of offences in British courts.
“The home secretary has now secured cooperation from the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the Home Office said, pointing to what it called the effectiveness of threatening visa penalties.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the move sent a clear signal to foreign governments. “If foreign governments refuse to accept the return of their citizens, then they will face consequences,” she said in a statement.
The UK used similar tactics last year with Namibia and Angola, threatening visa restrictions that led both countries to agree to accept migrant returns in December.
Mahmood has increasingly relied on the threat of US-style visa sanctions as part of a push to accelerate deportations, at a time when irregular immigration has become a highly charged political issue in Britain.
According to the latest government statistics, the vast majority of the 135.9 million people who migrated to the UK in the year to September 2025 entered legally on work or study visas. Only around 50,000 were undocumented arrivals.
The interior ministry said more than 3,000 undocumented migrants from Namibia, DR Congo and Angola could now be removed from the UK.
The visa pressure formed part of a broader package of asylum and immigration reforms announced by Mahmood in November aimed at tightening Britain’s system.
Immigration has become a major political flashpoint in recent years, driving support for the hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK party, which is currently leading opinion polls ahead of May’s local elections.
