International News
UK Pauses Refugee Family Reunion Route
Britain’s government announced Monday it was suspending a scheme enabling families of refugees already in the UK to apply to join their relatives, as it tries to reduce irregular immigration.
Labour is struggling to stop record numbers of undocumented migrants arriving in the country by small boat, which is fuelling a bitter national debate and boosting support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said she was “temporarily” suspending new applications to the so-called refugee family reunion route as she moves to reform the system.
“We do need to address the immediate pressures on local authorities and the risks from criminal gangs using family reunion as a pull factor to encourage more people onto dangerous boats,” she added.
Home Office figures released earlier this month showed there were almost 21,000 refugee family reunion visas issued in the year to June 2025, the vast majority handed out to women and children.
Cooper said the suspension comes ahead of further reforms set to be announced later this year which will look at “contribution requirements” for family members and “longer periods before newly granted refugees can apply”.
“Until the new framework is introduced, refugees will be covered by the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else,” Cooper told parliament.
Immigration currently tops Britons’ concerns, ahead of the economy and the National Health Service, an Ipsos survey published last month found.
Over 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest-ever number of applications since records began in 2001, Home Office data showed earlier this month.
More than 50,000 migrants have made the dangerous Channel crossing from northern France since the Labour Party’s Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024.
The arrivals, which also occurred under the previous Conservative government, is causing discontent that is being tapped into by Reform, led by hard-right firebrand Nigel Farage.
Cooper said the government expects to start returning the first migrants to France under a recent deal “later this month”.
UK officials have begun detaining people under a “one-in, one-out” agreement with Paris in which Britain can send back to France some migrants who crossed the English Channel.
In exchange, Britain will accept an equal number of migrants from France who can apply for a visa to enter the UK via an online platform, giving priority to nationalities most vulnerable to smugglers and people with ties in Britain.
“We expect the first returns to begin later this month,” Cooper told parliament.
“Applications have also been opened for the reciprocal legal route, with the first cases under consideration subject to strict security checks,” she added.
Reform has consistently led Labour in national opinion polls for several months now, although the next general election is not expected until 2029.
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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