The UK Home Office announced on February 6, 2026 that the Democratic Republic of Congo became the third country to agree to a migrant returns deal after Britain threatened visa penalties.

The move followed similar agreements with Namibia and Angola in December 2025, as the government tied visa access to cooperation on removals.

Shabana Mahmood, the UK Home Secretary, framed the approach as a warning to governments that resist taking back their nationals. “My message is clear, if foreign governments refuse to accept the return of their citizens, then they will face consequences. 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 restore order and control to our borders,” Mahmood said.

The Home Office said the UK secured cooperation quickly and has already begun removals activity linked to the agreements. “Within 3 months, cooperation has been secured, and flights are already off the ground, showcasing the effectiveness of threatening visa penalties. These results show successful delivery of reforms. marking a major step forward in restoring order and control to the immigration system,” it said in a press release.

In this context, a migrant returns deal refers to an arrangement under which a foreign government accepts the return of its citizens from the UK, allowing British authorities to carry out removals that can stall without travel documents or other cooperation.

The Home Office has placed visa policy at the center of its push, using changes to who gets easier access to UK visas and how quickly applications move as leverage when cooperation on returns lags.

Britain’s latest agreement centers on the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Home Office said cooperation came after it removed preferential visa treatment for Congolese VIPs and decision-makers and withdrew fast-track processing for all DRC nationals.

Namibia and Angola reached their returns cooperation agreements with the UK in December 2025, the Home Office said, establishing a pattern of linking removals cooperation with visa-related pressure.

The Home Office has described the approach as “transactional,” with incentives and penalties built around visas and the practical steps needed to execute removals.

Officials pointed to problems they say can block removals, including when countries fail to process paperwork or when governments let their citizens block their own removal by requiring them to sign their own travel documents.

In those cases, Britain can apply what it calls an “emergency brake” on visas, a concept the Home Office linked to restricting visa access for nationals of countries it deems non-cooperative.

For visa applicants, the measures described by the Home Office can translate into less favorable treatment at the front end of the system, including the removal of fast-track routes and changes affecting who receives preferential handling.

For people facing removal, the policy’s practical effect depends on whether cooperation produces travel documents and whether flights and enforcement activity proceed, which the Home Office said is already happening.

The Home Office estimated that over 3,000 nationals from Angola, Namibia and the DRC are now eligible for removal because of the cooperation.

Eligibility for removal does not necessarily mean someone has already been removed, and the Home Office did not break down how many in that group have left the country.

Alongside the country-specific figure, the Home Office reported a broader removals total since mid-2024. Since July 2024, approximately 58,500 people have been removed or deported from the UK, which officials claim is an “all-time high.”

The government did not spell out in its announcement what categories are included in the 58,500 figure, beyond the phrasing that people were “removed or deported.”

The Home Office also highlighted removals of Foreign National Offenders, a category that often draws heightened political attention because it involves deportations linked to criminality rather than immigration status alone.

Deportations of Foreign National Offenders are up 32% since the current government took power, the Home Office said, without providing the baseline number in its announcement.

The Home Office messaging has repeatedly linked these actions to deterrence and tougher enforcement, presenting the agreements as part of a wider effort to tighten border control and increase removals.

Mahmood’s statement paired illegal migration with criminality, and the Home Office press release said the policy shows the effectiveness of threatening visa penalties and described the outcome as part of “reforms.”

The shift has immediate consequences for nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Angola who seek to travel to the UK as visitors, students or workers, because the Home Office said it has already withdrawn fast-track processing and preferential treatment in the DRC case.

For high-ranking officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Home Office said the change specifically includes the loss of diplomatic privileges tied to visa treatment.

The Home Office linked the DRC cooperation directly to visa policy changes, saying it stripped Congolese VIPs and decision-makers of preferential visa treatment and revoked fast-track visa processing for all DRC nationals.

In practice, the UK visa threat model described by the Home Office relies on the idea that governments value easier travel for elites, smoother processing for ordinary nationals, or both, and that restricting those benefits can shift cooperation on returns.

The Home Office did not describe the operational details of removals flights in its announcement, beyond saying “flights are already off the ground.”

Britain’s approach mirrors steps the United States has also described as tying entry and visa issuance to cooperation on removals, based on actions and statements cited by U.S. agencies under the Trump administration as of February 2026.

A U.S. measure, Presidential Proclamation 10998 dated January 1, 2026, restricts entry and visa issuance to nationals of several dozen countries to “garner cooperation from foreign governments” regarding the return of their citizens and reducing overstays.

Another U.S. action cited in the same context is an Immigrant Visa Pause dated January 21, 2026, when the U.S. Department of State paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries identified as “high risk of public benefits usage.”

The practical effect of such pauses and restrictions can include delays, refusals, or additional screening, as visa processes tighten for affected nationalities and consular decisions take longer.

Kristi Noem, the DHS Secretary, described the administration’s enforcement posture during a border security tour on February 4, 2026. Noem said the U.S. is seeing “continued success” in enforcing removals and that the administration remains committed to “extreme vigilance” in the visa-issuance process.

Public statements like Noem’s can signal more scrutiny for travelers and visa applicants, because heightened vigilance can mean longer checks and tougher decisions at the consular stage or at the port of entry.

In the UK, the Home Office tied similar themes to its returns cooperation announcements, portraying visa leverage as a tool that can change foreign government behavior and accelerate removals.

Taken together, the UK and U.S. approaches cited by officials reflect a shift in how governments describe migration diplomacy, treating visa access less as a routine courtesy and more as a condition tied to returns and enforcement goals.

For individuals, the immediate impact depends on where they sit in the system: people applying for a visa can face stricter processing, while people with removal orders can face a higher likelihood that documentation and flights move ahead.

Nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Angola face what the Home Office described as the resumption of deportation flights and more stringent visa processing, as Britain links returns cooperation to visa treatment.

The Home Office has also indicated that other countries “resistant” to returns agreements may face similar pressure, with the Home Office reporting that India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia may be targeted for similar visa sanctions in the near future.

Any confirmed expansion would depend on formal government action, such as a published announcement or updated guidance that spells out what changes apply and to whom.

For readers seeking to verify the latest UK position, the Home Office published its announcement online as Three countries to take back illegal migrants after visa threat (Feb 6, 2026).

U.S. visa and immigration updates cited in this context include a State Department page titled Immigrant Visa Processing Updates for Nationalities at High Risk of Public Benefits Reliance (Feb 2, 2026) and a DHS page listed as DHS Press Room – Border Security and Enforcement Updates (Feb 2026).

Readers can distinguish official changes from commentary by checking that announcements appear on government domains, come from press office pages, and carry clear publication dates that match the policy action described.