The United Kingdom has threatened to bar all Eritrean nationals from entering the country unless Eritrea agrees to accept more deportees, including migrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats and foreign offenders.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the initial measures, which took effect on Thursday, including restrictions on Eritrean diplomats travelling outside London and the suspension of expedited visas for prominent individuals.
The British government said Asmara had abruptly ended its co-operation on deportations earlier this year, prompting the latest action.
Under the new rules, Eritrean diplomats must obtain authorisation before travelling beyond 60 kilometres from London.
The Home Office said the restrictions reflect similar limitations imposed on British officials stationed in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.
Mahmood warned that additional penalties could follow if the African nation continued to reject requests to receive its citizens.
She said Eritrea had repeatedly been given opportunities to facilitate the return of individuals convicted of crimes or without legal permission to remain in Britain, but had failed to cooperate.
According to figures compiled by the House of Commons Library, Eritreans represented 18 per cent of small-boat arrivals during the 12 months ending in June, making them the largest nationality group among those arriving through the dangerous sea route.
However, Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, questioned whether the proposed measures would significantly reduce migration.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she disclosed that approximately 7,000 asylum applications were submitted by Eritreans in the latest year covered by available statistics, representing around eight per cent of all applications.
Sumption explained that most Eritrean asylum seekers were unlikely to qualify for deportation because their protection claims were frequently approved.
She noted that approximately 84 per cent received favourable decisions at the initial assessment stage, with additional applicants potentially succeeding through appeals.
Although about 1,400 applications were initially rejected, she said the number of people ultimately eligible for removal could decline following further legal proceedings.
Many Eritreans flee their homeland to escape compulsory military service, which can continue for decades.
The country has remained under a one-party system since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993. It has never conducted a national election, while independent media outlets are prohibited.
President Isaias Afwerki’s critics have faced prolonged detention, sometimes without trial.
Religious freedom is also restricted, with authorities officially recognising only four religious groups: Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Eritrea.
The latest announcement follows Britain’s broader campaign to pressure foreign governments into accepting citizens who have been ordered to leave the UK.
In November last year, the Home Office warned that visa restrictions could be imposed on nations refusing to cooperate with deportation arrangements.
Earlier this year, Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faced similar threats.
Measures previously introduced against the DRC were subsequently withdrawn after improvements in cooperation, while Angola and Namibia agreed to changes before penalties were implemented.
Sumption suggested that Britain’s decisions could also be influenced by economic considerations, particularly the potential consequences of restricting entry from countries with substantial numbers of students and workers travelling to the UK.
She identified Pakistan and Bangladesh as countries with significant numbers of individuals refused asylum who remain in Britain without being returned to their countries of origin.
However, she argued that imposing blanket visa restrictions on those nations could cause greater economic disruption because of their extensive educational and employment links with the UK.
Meanwhile, Home Office statistics indicate that more than 20,400 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since the beginning of this year, representing a 40 per cent decrease compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
The figures also show that Britain recorded more than 40,600 returns and deportations between July 2025 and June 2026, an eight per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
Fewer than 6,000 of those returned during the period had been convicted of criminal offences.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong