Should the UK stop issuing visas to all Eritreans until Eritrea takes back failed asylum seekers?
The UK has not stopped issuing visas to ordinary Eritreans. On 15 October 2026 the Home Office ended fast-track visa processing for Eritrean VIPs and officials, restricted diplomats' travel, and threatened a total visa shutdown unless Eritrea takes back people with no right to be in the UK. Eritreans were the largest small boat nationality in the year to June 2026, but about 84% of initial asylum decisions grant protection, and fewer than 4% of 2,626 rejected claims in four years ended in return.
6 Opinions
Yes and send them back anyway
Maybe focus on the horrific dictatorship that is the reason so many Eritreans are refugees.
No brainer, pressure should escalate over time. Sanctions, targeted asset freezes, trade restrictions on individuals, entities, or sectors. Tariffs and trade barriers. Withholding aid or investments.
The Home Office have actually done the right thing in this instance when they ended fast track processing for Eritrean VIPs and restricted diplomats travel. That actually targets the regime responsible for taking the rejected claimants back.
In addition we should reject many more asylum seekers, such as all fighting age men