Agreement includes biometric data sharing and reduction in time for processing documents
The Government announced this evening that it had agreed a "landmark" new migration agreement with Vietnam to fast-track the removal of Vietnamese nationals with no right to be in the UK. According to the Government, the agreement is the strongest the Vietnamese government has ever agreed with another country.
Image credit: WikipediaUnder the agreement, the time taken to process documents for return cases with supporting evidence is expected to be reduced by up to 75%, supported by measures such as biometric data sharing and streamlined procedures. The Government said the measures could potentially allow the number of Vietnamese nationals returned to increase fourfold.
Both countries have also committed to intensified intelligence sharing to target networks involved in facilitating illegal migration, as well as public messaging aimed at deterring potential migrants before they travel to the UK.
The Government said the agreement forms part of a wider framework of international partnerships, including deals with France, Iraq, and countries in the Western Balkans, aimed at managing irregular migration and supporting legal returns. The UK and Vietnam additionally signed a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, outlining cooperation across areas including trade, security, climate, and growth.
A press release about the migration agreement is available here and the text of the broader Joint declaration on the elevation of UK - Viet Nam relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is available here. The joint declaration states briefly with regards to migration: "Both sides agreed to an Enhanced Migration Partnership which will reduce illegal migration and accelerate the return of illegal migrants. New measures include: the use of biometric data sharing in the identification process, accelerating the issuance of documents, and a commitment to intensified cooperation to dismantle immigration crime networks and enhanced deterrence messaging."
The Home Office earlier announced in March of this year that the UK had signed a joint communiqué in Hanoi with the Vietnamese government, which saw the two countries commit to further co-operation on preventing migration to the UK and returning Vietnamese nationals.
Human rights organisations continue to raise serious concerns about Vietnam's record.
In its latest annual rights report released in January, Human Rights Watch noted: "Vietnam suppresses citizens' basic rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, movement, and religion. Independent labor unions, human rights organizations, independent media, and political parties remain prohibited. The judiciary is not independent, and courts routinely deny defendants their due process rights. Police patrol the internet and arrest those they deem threatening to the Communist Party's monopoly on power."
Amnesty International's latest annual report states: "Human rights defenders, journalists and people detained for political reasons faced torture and inhumane prison conditions. The government used counterterror laws against activists and Montagnards from the Dak Lak region, resulting in arbitrary arrests and detentions. New laws were introduced to police social media and further silence dissent."
The latest US Department of State's human rights report, released under the Trump administration, was also critical of abuses in the country, highlighting: "There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Vietnam during the year. Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and punishment; involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices; arbitrary arrest or detention; transnational repression against individuals in another country; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists and censorship; restrictions of religious freedom; and systematic restrictions on workers' freedom of association. The government occasionally took corrective action, including prosecutions against officials who committed human rights abuses, but security authorities and other state officials frequently acted with impunity."
Vietnamese nationals account for among the highest number of foreign potential modern slavery victims recorded by the UK's National Referral Mechanism. In a major article published in August on the trafficking of Vietnamese nationals to the UK, The Times noted: "Data collected by the National Referral Mechanism, which detects potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, has found repeatedly that Vietnamese people are their most referred nationality besides British. In the first three months of this year, 700 Vietnamese suspected victims were flagged."