(Commonwealth_Europe) The UK government is considering suspending visas for countries that refuse to cooperate on taking back their citizens who have no right to remain in Britain. The new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, suggested the move as she met with her counterparts from the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada during a Five Eyes meeting in London. Among those attending was Donald Trump’s head of homeland security, reflecting the weight the UK is placing on international cooperation to tackle illegal migration.
Mahmood, only days into her new role, is already under intense pressure as record numbers of people continue to cross the Channel in small boats. On her first full day in office, more than 1,000 people made the journey, one of the highest daily totals ever recorded. Since the beginning of the year, over 30,000 people have arrived this way, up 37% compared with the same period last year. Mahmood described the figures as “utterly unacceptable” and made clear that her top priority is securing the UK’s borders.
Speaking publicly for the first time since her appointment, she said the government is looking at tougher options for dealing with countries that refuse to accept the return of their nationals. “We think there is interesting space for collaborating, particularly on how we deal with countries that do not take their citizens back,” she explained. “For countries that do not play ball, we have been talking about taking much more coordinated action between the Five Eyes countries. And for us, that means the possibility of cutting visas in the future to say we do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules, and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you have to take them back.”
The home secretary did not name specific countries that might face visa suspensions. However, experts point out that several nations—such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal—have low rates of accepting returns while at the same time having high demand for UK visas. Dr Madeleine Sumption of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory said the impact of such threats would depend on how much a country values its citizens’ access to the UK. Some, like India, have historically lobbied hard for greater visa access, which could make them particularly sensitive to restrictions.
The idea of linking visas to cooperation on removals is not new. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously suggested a more “transactional” approach, while earlier this summer, he floated the possibility of tying British visas to how well foreign governments work with the UK in returning failed asylum seekers. A Downing Street spokesperson reinforced that message, saying that a new Five Eyes agreement to share efforts on illegal migration was “another tool in our armory” and proof that the government is willing to use “every lever at our disposal” to bring down crossings.
However, political opponents contend that the Labour government is merely talking without taking any concrete action. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused ministers of being weak, saying that instead of simply discussing tougher measures, they should be implementing them. He argued the government should also consider cutting foreign aid to countries that refuse to take back their nationals. “This Labour government is too weak to take the steps necessary to protect our borders, and I see no sign of that changing any time soon,” he said.
As the debate persists, the government must demonstrate its ability to fulfil its commitment to border security while simultaneously upholding crucial diplomatic and economic ties with nations heavily dependent on visas for their citizens. The question is whether threats of suspending visas will actually shift the stance of those governments or simply escalate tensions while the small boat numbers continue to rise.
