"that means the possibility of cutting visas in the future"
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said the UK could suspend visas from countries that do not “play ball” and agree on deals to take back migrants.
She made the comments as she hosted Donald Trump’s head of homeland security and ministers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada at a Five Eyes meeting in London.
The talks came as the government continued to face pressure over the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats.
Speaking publicly for the first time since her appointment, Ms Mahmood said her “top priority” is “securing” the UK’s borders.
On visas, she explained: “We think there is interesting space for collaborating, particularly on how we deal with countries who do not take their citizens back, so making sure we are able to return out of our countries people who have no right to be in our countries and send them back to their home countries.
“For countries that do not play ball, we have been talking about taking much more coordinated action between the Five Eyes countries.
“And for us that means the possibility of cutting visas in the future to say we do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you have to take them back.”
Ms Mahmood did not specify which nations could face future visa suspensions.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said he favoured a “much more transactional” approach to visas.
In June 2025, he confirmed the government was considering whether visas could depend on how well countries cooperate on the returns of failed asylum seekers.
Home Office figures show more than 30,000 people have arrived in the UK by small boat in 2025, which Ms Mahmood called “utterly unacceptable“.
Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said there were “quite a few countries where returns of refused asylum seekers are low and demand for UK visas is also high”.
She said: “How these countries would respond to threats to reduce visa access might depend how much they care about visa options for their citizens.
“This will vary, although some countries, such as India, have a long history of lobbying for visa access.”
Shabana Mahmood held talks with US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and has been a central figure in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
The Five Eyes alliance, which includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is a decades-old intelligence-sharing pact widely regarded as one of the most effective of its kind.
The summit also addressed online child sexual abuse and the spread of opioids.
Attendees included Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and New Zealand Minister Judith Collins.
Ms Mahmood said she hoped to agree on new measures to “protect our borders with our Five Eyes partners, hitting people smugglers hard”.
Shabana Mahmood was appointed Home Secretary during the Prime Minister’s cabinet reshuffle, replacing Yvette Cooper.
Her appointment has been seen as a signal that Labour intends to prioritise tackling illegal immigration and asylum.
On Sunday, Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed the government is considering expanding the use of military sites to house asylum seekers, as it looks to reduce reliance on asylum hotels. He said officials are also reviewing other “non-military accommodation”.
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