UK threatens Eritrea with entry ban over returns

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned Eritrea that all its nationals could be banned from entering the UK unless it accepts more returns of people with no right to remain.

Ministers said the warning applies to people arriving by small boat and to foreign criminals facing removal. The warning was reported on 14 October BBC News. Ministers said no general ban is in force. They said the measure stays conditional on Eritrea's help.

What has been announced

Ministers said two immediate steps sit alongside the warning. Eritrean diplomats will need permission from Thursday to travel more than 60km outside London. The Home Office said the rule mirrors limits placed on British officials in Asmara, the Eritrean capital. Ministers said fast-track visas for Eritrean VIPs have already been stopped.

Why Eritrea has been singled out

Ministers accused the Eritrean authorities of abruptly withdrawing help with returns earlier this year. Figures from the House of Commons Library put Eritreans at 18% of small boat arrivals in the 12 months to June. That made them the most common nationality in that group.

Mahmood said she would not hesitate to take further steps against other countries that refuse to help with returns. Ministers said Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were threatened with visa action earlier this year. Ministers said restrictions announced against the Democratic Republic of Congo last year were later lifted after cooperation improved. Ministers said Angola and Namibia agreed changes before any restrictions started.

Home Office data put small boat arrivals at more than 20,400 since the start of the year. That is down 40% on the same period last year. Ministers said returns and deportations totalled more than 40,600 between July 2025 and June this year, up 8% on the previous 12 months. Fewer than 6,000 of those returned had been convicted of a criminal offence. The government has said it could cut visas for countries that delay or refuse returns of people with no right to remain GOV.UK.

What this could mean

In my view, the tool in use here is visa conditionality, where visas act as leverage. VIP processing goes first. Limits on diplomats follow. A general ban is held back. Returns depend on papers and on the receiving country agreeing to accept people. Without that help, removals stall. Whitehall can point to the Congo case, where limits were lifted, and to Angola and Namibia, where deals were agreed at the warning stage. Eritrea looks a harder case. The cohort is larger, and help was withdrawn rather than slow. For caseworkers, the limit will stay practical. For ministers, it will stay diplomatic.