UK restricts DR Congo visas over migrant return policy

The Home Office says Kinshasa has failed to agree to measures allowing the return of illegal immigrants and foreign national offenders.

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Ministers say the DRC has not made changes required under the toughening up of the UK's asylum rules announced in November.

Fast-track visa processes will no longer apply to people from the country, while the Home Office said VIPs and politicians would no longer get preferential treatment when coming to the UK.

Meanwhile, the Home Office said Angola and Namibia had agreed to step up efforts to take back their citizens, having been threatened with sanctions alongside the DRC.

A government source said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood would not hesitate to ban visas for other countries refusing to take citizens back.