Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned that all entry for Eritreans to the UK will be halted unless an agreement is reached to deport criminals and irregular migrants.

Travel curbs outside of London will be imposed on diplomats from the east African nation from Thursday, alongside the removal of fast-track visa access and preferential processing for VIPs.

However, the practical effect of these restrictions remains in doubt, given the minimal volume of legal travel from Eritrea to the UK.

According to Eritrea’s Embassy in London: "The UK has not issued a single visa to an Eritrean official since 2023."

Data from the Home Office reveals that only 77 work visas were granted to Eritrean nationals in the year leading to June, representing 0.03 per cent of the 234,841 total.

Study visas showed an even lower share over the same 12-month period, with Eritreans receiving just 33 of the 385,974 issued, accounting for 0.01 per cent.

Similarly, they account for only 269 of the total 2.2 million tourist visas issued in the same time frame (0.01 per cent).

By contrast, Eritreans were the most common nationality among migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel in the year to June, according to the Home Office.

Some 18 per cent of arrivals in the 12-month period whose nationality was known were from Eritrea (5,875 out of 32,234).

Eritrean was also the second most common nationality of people claiming asylum in the UK in the 12 months to June, accounting for 8 per cent of the total (6,952 out of 85,891). The grant rate for initial asylum decisions from Eritreans was 84 per cent – the second highest.

It is understood there are around 230 Eritrean foreign criminals the UK is seeking to deport.

Of the 85,858 prisoners behind bars in England and Wales at the end of June, 160 (0.2 per cent) were Eritrean, Ministry of Justice figures show.

Ms Mahmood said Eritrea could be hit with a complete visa ban unless it agrees to the return of more small boat migrants and convicted criminals.

“Eritrea has had every chance to accept the return of criminals and those with no right to be in the UK. Unlike other countries, it has refused,” Ms Mahmood said.

“My message to the Eritrean government is simple: take back your nationals or face a complete ban on your citizens entering the UK.

“I will not hesitate to impose further measures on other countries refusing to cooperate.”