Hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago nationals who travelled to the United Kingdom and sought asylum have been repatriated, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Sean Sobers confirmed to the Trinidad Express.
Sobers said in an interview that between 90 and 97 per cent of the more than 700 nationals who had applied for asylum have returned to Trinidad over the past few months.
The developments follow the UK government’s announcement just over a year ago, on March 12, 2025, that all Trinidad and Tobago nationals would require a visa to enter the UK, even for short visits. The move was in response to a “significant increase” in nationals arriving as visitors and subsequently claiming asylum.
Between 2023 and 2024, a total of 797 asylum applications were filed by Trinidad and Tobago nationals. At the time, former Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds noted that local criminals were fleeing to the UK to avoid legal accountability, a factor cited in the introduction of the visa requirement.
An explanatory memorandum presented to the UK Parliament on March 12, 2025, highlighted the surge in claims. From the first quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 797 claims, including dependants, compared with an annual average of 49 claims between 2015 and 2019.
The Home Office also noted that most claims were made at UK ports of entry, placing operational pressure on border staff and diverting resources from other priorities. It added that Trinidad and Tobago’s visa status would continue to be reviewed, particularly in relation to asylum claims and the internal security situation at home.
On March 5, 2026, the UK Home Office issued a Facebook update citing widespread abuse of the asylum system. The post stated that by introducing visit visas for tourists from Jordan, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Botswana, over 6,000 potential asylum claims were prevented. Nicaraguans and Saint Lucians were also added to the list of nationals now required to obtain visit visas.
