LONDON: Britain has imposed visa restrictions on DR Congo nationals over the country's "poor co-operation" on returning illegal migrants, the UK government said.

Further measures, up to a complete halt on visas, will follow unless cooperation "rapidly improves", the interior ministry said in a statement late Saturday.

The curbs mean that DR Congo VIPs and decision makers will lose preferential treatment on visas, while fast-track visa processing has been revoked for all DR Congo nationals.

They come after Britain's Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, in November threatened DR Congo, Angola and Namibia with visa bans unless they accepted the return of irregular migrants.

The interior ministry said the three African countries had "continually frustrated" efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals.

It said they had "unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes" and accused the countries of refusing to process paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents – effectively allowing them to block their own deportations.

Angola and Namibia had, however, agreed "to improve their processes" and accept the return of "illegal migrants and criminals", and so will not face such restrictions, the interior ministry said.

There had been some recent engagement by the DR Congo, but Mahmood warned the Central African nation needed "to play by the rules".

"If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back," she said.

"I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country."

These visa measures came as part of a package of reforms Mahmood announced in November seeking to tighten up Britain's asylum rules.

Immigration has become a bitterly divisive issue in Britain in recent years, fuelling support for the hard-right Reform UK party, which is currently well in front in opinion polls ahead of next May's local elections.

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UK restricts DR Congo visas over migrant returns