Over 20,000 Indians in Britain at risk as UK’s new Home Secretary targets India in migrant crackdown plan

Indians, Pakistanis and Nigerians could face new visa restrictions if their governments refuse or delay taking back illegal migrants from Britain, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned. The newly appointed British Home Secretary, as per reports, has expressed her readiness to risk diplomatic tensions as she outlined plans to suspend or cap visas for countries that do not "play ball" with her push to step up deportations. The move marks a shift to what officials called a more "transactional" use of the visa system, escalating from quotas to outright bans if countries refuse cooperation.

Why has the UK hardened its stance against immigrants?

US President Donald Trump's Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem's presence in the UK may have something to do with it. Mahmood announced the policy while hosting Noem, who has overseen the US's mass deportation drive.

The warning comes after the Five Eyes intelligence alliance — UK, US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand — agreed on new principles to pressure countries into taking back their citizens.

The Times, citing UK officials, stated that India, Pakistan, and Nigeria are among the most resistant nations, unwilling to take back their immigrants who have overstayed their welcome in the UK.

How many Indians could be affected by this?

According to the report, India tops the list of visa overstayers, with 20,706 Indians failing to leave in the year to 2020, while Pakistan has refused to accept several foreign criminals, including Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, the dual British-Pakistani dual-citizenship ringleaders of the Rochdale grooming gang who renounced their Pakistani citizenship. Nigeria also features high on the overstayer list.

Migration experts, however, have warned that the move could strain relations with key partners like India. Talking to the publication, Dr Peter Walsh of Oxford University's Migration Observatory said India in particular "dim view of bargaining tactics that involve these kinds of threats". He pointed out that "We have a long relationship with India and they have lobbied the UK government fairly consistently for privileged access to our visa system, and they are one of the biggest users of it."

In 2021, India and UK signed a returns deal. Last year, in 2024, India took back 7,395 citizens — more than any other nationality — but this, as per the report, could be because Indians happen to be the largest foreign population without the right to live in the UK. Officials also complain that Delhi remains slow to issue emergency travel documents for deportees without passports. This is made necessary by the fact that people often destroy their passports to prevent or delay their return to their home country.

Mahmood, in her first public comments as home secretary, pledged to be a "whatever it takes" minister and warned senior Home Office staff to "bring their A-game — or leave". She also promised to go "further and faster" than her predecessor, Yvette Cooper, on tackling migrant crossings, which hit a record 30,165 this year, up 37 per cent.