Britain has threatened to impose a total visa ban on Eritrean nationals unless the East African country agrees to accept more migrants arriving in the UK by small boats and convicted criminals facing deportation.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Thursday that preferential, fast-track access to British visas had already been withdrawn from Eritrean officials and other prominent individuals.
The British government has also introduced restrictions on Eritrean diplomats based in the UK, requiring them to obtain permission from the Foreign Office before travelling more than 60 kilometres beyond London.
The Home Office said the measures followed Eritrea’s abrupt withdrawal of cooperation on the return of its nationals earlier this year, despite months of private efforts by London to resolve the dispute.
Eritreans were the largest nationality group among migrants arriving in the UK by small boat in the year ending June 2026.
The British government said effective return arrangements were essential for removing failed asylum seekers and foreign nationals convicted of crimes.
According to the Home Office, fewer than four per cent of the 2,626 Eritreans whose asylum applications were rejected over the past four years had been deported.
Mahmood warned that other countries could face similar visa restrictions if they failed to cooperate with Britain on the return of migrants who had no legal right to remain in the country.
