UK visa ban for Indians? Top Tory contender Robert Jenrick says ‘no Indian visas without return agreement’
Robert Jenrick, one of the four remaining candidates to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party, has vowed to «severely restrict visas» to countries that refuse to accept the return of illegal migrants, particularly targeting India and Vietnam. He claimed that while 250,000 visas were granted to Indian nationals in 2023 for work, visits, and study, an estimated 100,000 Indians currently reside illegally in the UK, and “returns remain stuck in the hundreds.”
Plans for Increased Deportations
Jenrick outlined a five-point plan aimed at achieving a fivefold increase in the number of deportations of individuals living illegally in the UK, proposing that total removals could surpass 100,000 per year. “It is time to play hardball with these countries and refuse to issue visas until they agree to take back their citizens who are living illegally in the UK,” he stated.
This comes in the wake of a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the UK and India, designed to facilitate the return of illegal Indian nationals. However, in 2023, only 22,807 illegal migrants were removed from the UK, with Indian nationals making up 15% of this total (3,439 individuals).
Visa and Aid Conditionality
In his remarks, Jenrick emphasized that the UK government must impose severe restrictions on visas and foreign aid to countries that do not comply with repatriation requests. He named Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan as other nations that have benefitted from UK aid but have not cooperated on returns. «The government
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