The United Kingdom has announced that all Namibian nationals will need a visa before travelling to the UK, including to visit, as of today.

In a statement, the British High Commissioner to Namibia, Charles Moore, explained that the decision to impose a visa regime was made because of the "sustained and significant increase since 2016 in the number of UK asylum applications from Namibian nationals at the UK border. This constitutes an abuse of the provision to visit the UK for a limited period as non-visa nationals."

The changes, which come into effect immediately, will apply to all Namibian nationals travelling to the UK.

However, there will be a four-week transition period until 15:00 BST on August 16, 2023. During this period, Namibian nationals holding confirmed tickets booked before July 19, 2023, will still be permitted to travel to the UK as non-visa nationals.