Nigeria, Jamaica, and others at risk of new UK visa restrictions

Many African and Caribbean countries, including Nigeria and Jamaica, could face visa restrictions to the UK if Reform UK wins the next general election.

This idea for a new policy is aimed at countries that have officially asked for reparations related to slavery.

According to reports, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, defended the plan, saying: “A growing number of countries are demanding reparations from Britain. They ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition.

“Astonishingly, these countries have received 3.8 million visas and £6.6 billion in foreign aid over the past 20 years. Enough is enough.”

A few African and Caribbean countries, like Nigeria and Jamaica, have asked some pretty tough questions lately. This is making people wonder if their citizens might get stopped from coming to the UK.

Other countries that Reform UK brought up are Kenya, Haiti, Guyana, Barbados, and The Bahamas.

This news came out just weeks after a United Nations vote that asked countries that used to be colonial powers to pay up for the harms of slavery.

The resolution described the forced displacement of Africans as one of the “gravest crimes against humanity.” Britain abstained from the vote.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticised the UN, saying: “It is now the UN telling us we should go bankrupt, to apologise for what people did in 1775 or whatever it might have been. Forget it. The UN has no legitimacy over this country whatsoever.”

The party also vowed to cap foreign aid spending at £1 billion annually, a 90% reduction from current levels.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK acknowledges the horrors of the slave trade but reiterated that its position on reparations remains unchanged. Opposition leader Keir Starmer has similarly ruled out an apology or payments, saying: “I want to look at the future rather than spend a lot of time on the past.”

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Nations directly impacted by the slave trade are starting to formally demand reparations. Recently, Ghana successfully got the United Nations to have the transatlantic slave trade recognized as one of the “worst crimes against humanity."

The African nation is calling for formal apologies, the return of stolen cultural items, and reparatory justice to help heal the lasting wounds caused by slavery.

The United Nations has become increasingly active in talks and statements about reparations, particularly concerning slavery and its long-term effects. Back in March and April of 2026, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that labeled the trading of enslaved Africans and the system of racialized chattel slavery as the “worst crime against humanity.”

Ghana was key in pushing this resolution forward, and it gained support from numerous African and Caribbean nations. The resolution urged for reparations to fix past wrongs, suggesting things like formal apologies, returning cultural items, and having discussions about justice.

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When the vote happened, 123 countries voted in favor. However, three nations— the United States, Israel, and Argentina— voted against it, while 52 others chose not to vote either way.

The UN also noted that other countries and groups advocating for reparations include Ghana, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Nations, the African Union, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, and Haiti.