Eritrea has rejected British allegations initially made by the UK’s home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, that it abruptly ended cooperation on the return of its citizens, accusing the United Kingdom of politicising its asylum system as the UK threatens to block Eritrean nationals from entering the country unless Asmara agrees to accept more people facing removal.
In a statement issued by its embassy in London on October 15, the Eritrean government said it does not accept the forced return of its citizens and had communicated that position to British officials on several occasions. It accused the UK of insisting on enforced repatriation rather than pursuing what it described as constructive dialogue over the return of Eritreans.
The dispute escalated after British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced visa penalties against Eritrea on October 15. The British government has withdrawn preferential visa processing for Eritrean officials and diplomats, while warning that a wider ban on visas for Eritrean nationals could follow if cooperation on returns does not improve. The Foreign Office has also restricted Eritrean diplomats from travelling more than 60 kilometres beyond London without permission.
The UK says it needs cooperation from foreign governments to remove people who have no legal right to remain in Britain, including rejected asylum seekers and foreign nationals convicted of crimes. British officials say Eritrea withdrew its cooperation earlier this year, undermining efforts to arrange returns.
Eritrea disputes that account of the disagreement. Its embassy said the government had repeatedly requested discussions with British authorities about returning its citizens in a dignified manner, but claimed the UK had shown little interest in meaningful negotiations. The embassy also argued that Britain’s approach contradicted its own country guidance on Eritrea.
A central point of contention is the UK’s treatment of Eritrean asylum claims. The embassy accused Britain of effectively offering broad asylum protection to people claiming to be Eritrean, arguing that the policy encourages migration by Eritreans and allows people of other nationalities to misrepresent their identities. Those allegations are the Eritrean government’s position and have not been independently established by the embassy’s statement.
The embassy also said Eritrea suspended the practice of escorting citizens who were described as voluntarily returning after what it called unacceptable conduct by British authorities. It alleged that the UK had failed to disclose that some people being returned were convicted criminals still serving prison sentences and had classified some returns as voluntary despite circumstances that Eritrea said showed otherwise.
The UK has rejected the Eritrean embassy’s account. British officials say they made repeated attempts to resolve the disagreement privately, including offering to send a Home Office delegation to Asmara. The Home Office described the embassy’s statement as containing factual inaccuracies, according to British media reports.
The Eritrean embassy also disputed the justification for the visa measures, calling the decision a “perfunctory political gimmick”. It claimed Britain had not issued a single visa to an Eritrean official since 2023. British officials have challenged that assertion, saying an Eritrean official received a confirmed exemption from immigration control as recently as August 2026.
The wider dispute comes as Eritreans account for a significant share of people arriving in Britain by small boats across the English Channel. British figures show that Eritreans were the most common nationality among small-boat arrivals in the year ending June 2026. Eritrean asylum applicants have also historically had high rates of successful initial asylum decisions, reflecting the protection concerns raised by conditions in their home country.
Human rights concerns are central to the debate. Eritrea has been widely criticised for indefinite national service, restrictions on political freedoms and reports of arbitrary detention. Those conditions have contributed to the departure of many Eritreans seeking protection abroad, while the British government argues that people whose asylum claims fail, as well as foreign criminals without a right to remain, must be removable under immigration law.
