Countries refusing to take back illegal migrants could be stripped of visas
Countries refusing to take back migrants who arrive illegally in the UK could be stripped of visas under new plans being scrutinised by Sir Keir Starmer.
The Prime Minister said he was looking at taking a more 'transactional' approach to returns agreements and how to treat nations that refuse to sign one with the UK.
Sir Keir brought up the idea with fellow world leaders at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, as he pressed European counterparts to do more to tackle the small boats crisis.
The number of people arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel so far this year is around 40 per cent higher than it was last year.
The crossings have piled pressure on the Government to go further to tackle the problem, with concern seen to be contributing to the surging popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
The UK has returns agreements with countries including Albania, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Georgia, Somalia, Serbia, and Algeria. Each is different – but broadly, they include a commitment to take back citizens who have no right to stay in the UK, such as failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals.
Speaking to reporters at the summit, Sir Keir said he had raised the idea of linking returns agreements to visas in a round table discussion on Monday.
He said he had 'made clear that we are looking at issues like a smarter use of our visas', saying that included 'looking at whether we should tie our visas to the work that the countries we're dealing with are doing on preventative measures and on returns agreements '.
The Prime Minister said: 'We are looking at what we can do on returns agreements. We have done a number of bilateral returns agreements.
'So the question is, again, whether it is possible to go a bit beyond that, including looking at this question of visas now and whether we can't be a bit smarter with the use of our visas in relation to countries that don't have a returns agreement with us'.
Asked whether that meant countries that refused to sign returns agreements being stripped of visas, he said: 'Yeah – it would be much more sort of transactional, if you like.
'Now we're looking into it, but certainly I think there are areas like that that we should look more closely at.'
Sir Keir also had discussions with the leaders of France, Italy and Germany about where they could cooperate more deeply to tackle the small boats crisis.
His talks with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, included discussing 'innovative ways' to tackle the flow of boats, according to a Downing Street spokesman.
There is a UK-France summit next month, at which it seems likely that a new package of measures could be announced to counter the crisis.
The Downing Street readout of the Starmer-Macron bilateral meeting made mention of the 'deteriorating situation in the Channel', an apparent reference to the high number of crossings this year.
Asked whether that amounted to an admission of failure on small boats in his first months in office, Sir Keir said: 'Look, there's a serious situation in relation to the Channel crossings and, as I've said on a number of occasions, nobody should be making that crossing. It is a serious challenge that requires serious responses to it.'
Sir Keir said his conversations with Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, focused on what could be done 'upstream' – an area in which Ms Meloni has had 'some success in reducing her own numbers', the Prime Minister added.
He also talked to Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, attending his first G7 summit, about the problem of how some of the boats used for crossings often are moved through Germany.
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