FRANCE — The UK government began returning asylum seekers to France under a new bilateral agreement and said it has already removed 281 people as part of a pilot designed to pair each return with a legal admission in the opposite direction.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the removals in an update to LBC on January 27, 2026, and described the early stages as limited by capacity. “It started very small and slowly. The French and we were concerned about whether we had the infrastructure to handle the pilot. The numbers will grow.”
“It started very small and slowly. The French and we were concerned about whether we had the infrastructure to handle the pilot. The numbers will grow.”
Downing Street also framed the exchange as variable over time, with a spokesperson pointing to shifts between returns and admissions under the “one-in, one-out” framework. “We’ve always been clear, the numbers will fluctuate. at the beginning of the agreement the numbers were higher in terms of us sending people to France than receiving people under the safe returns route,” the spokesperson said on January 27, 2026.
“We’ve always been clear, the numbers will fluctuate. at the beginning of the agreement the numbers were higher in terms of us sending people to France than receiving people under the safe returns route,”
The UK and France formalized the “one-in, one-out” arrangement in August 2025, linking removals to a commitment to accept asylum seekers from France through what officials described as a safe, controlled, and legal route. The policy ties responsibility for handling an asylum claim to a first safe country of arrival, with the UK government presenting returns to France as a way to discourage irregular migration and impose what it calls orderly procedures.
Officials have placed the deal at the center of Britain’s effort to curb irregular English Channel crossings, an issue that has driven years of political pressure to show tougher border enforcement. Small boat crossings reached 41,472 in 2025, the second-highest figure on record, prompting acceleration of the “one-in, one-out” framework to replace the previously cancelled Rwanda plan.
Under the agreement, UK authorities can return people who entered the UK after traveling through France, or whose applications link to irregular routes, when officials determine France bears responsibility for processing the asylum request. The triggers focus on a person’s travel route and connection to irregular journeys, rather than on the substance of an asylum claim itself, shifting the processing venue to France when the criteria apply.
The framework sets out that returns depend on an official determination of responsibility and sits within the UK’s stated goal of pairing enforcement with an admissions pathway from France, rather than treating returns as a stand-alone measure. Even with set criteria, the practical handling of cases can differ from person to person as individuals move through administrative steps and legal processes across two systems.
The UK government has presented the arrangement as part of a wider strategy to reshape incentives around irregular crossings, arguing that a return to France means an illegal arrival will not necessarily result in an asylum claim being heard in Britain. The policy also fits a broader international mix of approaches to migration pressures, with some governments emphasizing regularization and others focusing on enforcement and managed returns.
In that context, the UK’s deal with France strengthens a mechanism to return certain asylum seekers to what officials describe as a first safe country of arrival, while keeping an exchange element through admissions from France. Supporters of the agreement argue that cooperation with France improves control and reduces the incentive for dangerous crossings, as the UK tries to impose more predictable processing and demonstrate it can remove people who arrive through irregular routes.
Advocates for migrants’ rights have raised concerns about the effects of faster returns on vulnerable people seeking asylum, including those with trauma and complex protection needs. Medical Justice criticised the policy in comments cited, saying it causes “serious harm to survivors of torture, trafficking and other trauma” by detaining and removing them before their asylum claims are fully considered.
Operational frictions have surfaced alongside the early removals, with logistical hurdles and individual legal challenges even as ministers described the policy as aiming for “rapid removals.” A major charter flight scheduled for January 7, 2026, was abruptly cancelled, underscoring practical constraints as the pilot rolls out.
Officials have also emphasised that the exchange element runs both ways, with the UK accepting 350 people from France under the legal route connected to the deal as of January 28, 2026, producing a ratio of roughly 1.25 incoming for every 1 outgoing. The pilot has a defined end date of June 11, 2026, and that timeline was linked to the broader European Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Taken together, the balance of removals and admissions has become part of the political messaging around the arrangement, with government figures pointing to control, deterrence and orderliness, and critics focusing on access to protection and procedural fairness. The UK government has provided regular updates on removals and admissions, and officials have pointed to the comparison between outward transfers and inward places as evidence that the arrangement is reciprocal rather than purely punitive.
Alongside the exchange numbers, the 2025 crossings figure has served as a backdrop in the government’s case for moving faster on removals and resetting expectations about what happens after an irregular arrival. The deal has also played into a broader diplomatic picture in which Britain and France coordinate on migration while engaging on wider regional issues with other allies.
A joint statement issued on January 27, 2026, by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States followed high-level meetings between UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and US Special Envoy Tom Barrack, pointing to continuing cooperation between the countries during a period of migration policy change. The UK published the statement at Situation in North East Syria: joint statement, 27 January 2026.
The UK has also used official channels to frame the policy as part of its response to small boat crossings, including a Home Office media blog update published at Latest statement in response to small boat crossings (Jan 16, 2026). Government communications have described the agreement coming into force as part of an attempt to target illegal crossings, with a UK statement published at UK-France treaty targeting illegal crossings comes into force.
Comments by President Donald Trump during a visit to the UK in September 2025 included discussion of the agreement at a news conference with PM Starmer and argued for stopping migration.
“You have people coming in, and I told the prime minister I would stop it. It doesn’t matter if you call out the military, it doesn’t matter what means you use,”
Mahmood’s remarks underscored that the government expects activity under the pilot to expand from a cautious start, with capacity and infrastructure shaping early implementation as removals begin. Downing Street’s spokesperson, while stressing fluctuation, pointed to periods when returns exceeded admissions, signaling that the government plans to defend the scheme not just on total numbers but on how the exchange operates across time.
For asylum seekers, the agreement can alter choices and constraints around travel routes and where a claim gets processed, since a person who transited France before reaching the UK can face transfer back across the Channel under the responsibility rules. Transfers can also affect how people secure legal advice and gather evidence, as representation and documentation built up in one system may need to be re-established in another as cases move between jurisdictions.
Implications were also flagged for appeal rights under both French and UK systems, as the transfer of responsibility can change which procedures apply and where challenges get filed. Supporters argue that clearer consequences for irregular routes will reduce pressure on the Channel and lower the incentive to attempt dangerous crossings, while the concerns raised by Medical Justice and other advocates focus on what faster detention and removal can mean for people with serious vulnerabilities.
As the pilot runs to June 11, 2026, officials have tied its progress to public reporting of removals and admissions, and other governments may watch whether the UK and France can sustain a reciprocal model while managing legal challenges and capacity limits.
UK Begins Returning 281 Migrants Under Bilateral Agreement with France Asylum Plan
The UK and France have implemented a reciprocal migration agreement to manage Channel crossings. The deal allows the UK to return asylum seekers who traveled through France in exchange for accepting refugees via legal routes. Since its inception, 281 people were returned and 350 admitted. Although the government views this as a vital deterrent, critics argue it risks the safety of vulnerable populations and faces significant logistical hurdles.
