UK begins detaining migrants under "one in, one out" deal with France

The UK government has begun detaining migrants who arrived via small boats under a newly launched “one in, one out” asylum arrangement with France, marking the first enforcement steps under the policy unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration.

The Home Office confirmed that detentions started on Wednesday afternoon, with migrants identified from a Channel crossing taken to immigration removal centres ahead of expected deportation, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UK is to notify French authorities of selected individuals within three days, and France will have 14 days to respond.

The pilot scheme, which only applies to a small portion of recent arrivals, involves returning certain migrants to France in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers with links to the UK. Ministers have hailed the measure as a breakthrough in managing irregular migration across the Channel.

However, legal uncertainty surrounds the arrangement. Immigration lawyers have flagged ambiguities in the text of the treaty that they say could form grounds for legal challenges against removals. Additionally, the deal does not apply to individuals with pending asylum claims, and France may reject transfers if there are concerns over public safety, health, or security.

The UK has committed to covering the costs of all transfers under the agreement. The reciprocal scheme, which also allows a limited number of asylum seekers with family or other ties to the UK to apply for entry, has already begun.

Applicants must meet strict eligibility criteria, submit identity documents and photographs, and pass security and biometric checks.

While ministers have described the policy as a “game-changing” step in addressing small boat crossings, Home Office sources said the initial stage would be limited to around 50 asylum seekers.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated: “Criminal gangs have spent seven years embedding themselves along our border, and it will take time to unravel them, but these detentions are an important step towards undermining their business model and unravelling the false promises they make.

These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started – sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the plan for change.”

The agreement is set to remain in effect until June 11, 2026, but can be terminated by either side with a month's notice.

Over 25,000 people have crossed the Channel into the UK so far in 2025, marking a 48% increase on the same period last year and the highest figure since records began in 2018.

By Aghakazim Guliyev