MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday denied allegations that Somalia has refused to accept its citizens deported from Europe, after the European Union imposed new visa restrictions on Somali nationals over concerns about cooperation on migrant returns.
Speaking during Somalia’s Independence Day celebrations in Mogadishu, Hassan Sheikh said the dispute with the EU was not about rejecting Somali nationals but about verifying the identity of people being repatriated.
“We were told that the European Union has imposed a visa ban on Somalis, alleging that Somalia has rejected its citizens. This is not true,” the president said. “A Somali citizen cannot be rejected from his country, and we will not reject him.”
The Council of the European Union announced earlier on Thursday that it would temporarily tighten Schengen visa rules for Somali citizens, citing what it described as insufficient cooperation from Somalia in accepting the return of nationals who are illegally staying in EU member states.
Under the new measures, Somali applicants will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry Schengen visas, while visa processing times will increase from 15 to 45 days. The EU has also reinstated visa fees for holders of Somali diplomatic and service passports.
EU officials said the restrictions could be reversed if Somalia demonstrates significant progress in cooperating on readmission and return procedures.
Responding to the decision, Hassan Sheikh said Somalia fully accepts the return of its citizens but insists on confirming their nationality before repatriation.
“We want to first ensure that the people being repatriated are indeed Somali citizens,” he said. “If they are, we welcome them. If they are not Somali, they should be returned to their country of origin.”
The president said some individuals who claimed to be Somali while seeking asylum in Europe were later found not to be Somali nationals during verification processes.
He added that the Somali government regularly dispatches officials to assess the identities of individuals scheduled for return and, in some cases, arranges flights to transport confirmed Somali citizens back home.
The disagreement highlights ongoing tensions between European governments seeking to increase returns of migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected and Somalia’s preference for voluntary and verified repatriation procedures.
Somalia has maintained that it is willing to receive its citizens but argues that nationality verification is necessary to prevent non-Somalis from being returned to the country.
