The United Kingdom (UK) government has secured migrant return deals with three African countries.
The three African nations—Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—have officially agreed to receive their citizens who are in the UK illegally.
The UK government secured the migrant return deals after the Home Office leveraged a firm visa penalty threat.
The agreement follows months of escalating tension between London and the three nations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had previously warned that countries refusing to cooperate on the repatriation of their own citizens would face severe consequences.
The UK visa penalty threat was first materialized against the DRC in late 2025, when the UK government stripped Congolese VIPs and diplomats of preferential visa treatment and revoked fast-track processing services.
However, on Friday, February 6, 2026, the Home Office confirmed that the DRC had joined Namibia and Angola in agreeing to the returns.
This cooperation is expected to facilitate the deportation of up to 3,000 individuals, including foreign national offenders and those who arrived via irregular routes, such as small boats across the English Channel.
“My message is clear: if foreign governments refuse to accept the return of their citizens, then they will face consequences,” Mahmood said following the agreement.
Mahmood added: “Illegal migrants and dangerous criminals will now be removed and deported back to Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“I will do what it takes to secure our order and control our borders,” she added.
In the year ending September 2025, there were 36,475 returns and deportations from the UK, an 11% increase on the previous 12 months.
Around 5,000 of the returns were foreign national offenders – 48% came from EU countries and 52% came from non-EU countries.
The Home Secretary has indicated that countries which refuse to work with the UK on returns cannot expect a normal visa relationship, with further threats expected for lack of cooperation.
According to reports, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Somalia, and Gabon are all resistant to return deals and it is possible that the government could look at sanctions for those countries.
The government hopes that increasing the return of illegal migrants will deter people from trying to get to the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Last year, 41,472 migrants made the journey, a 13% rise on the year before.
At the end of last year, European countries including the UK agreed to negotiate a new approach to interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to make it easier to deport illegal migrants.
