NextFin news, On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, a family of three, including a small child, arrived in the United Kingdom as the first asylum seekers admitted under the UK government's new 'one in, one out' immigration agreement with France.
The family’s arrival follows the removal of four migrants from the UK to France under the pilot scheme, which was announced in July 2025 by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. The agreement aims to deter illegal crossings of the English Channel by small boats.
Under the deal, for every migrant returned to France who entered the UK illegally by small boat and had their asylum claim withdrawn or declared inadmissible, the UK will accept one eligible migrant from France through a legal route. The scheme initially targets adults, as children who enter illegally are not detained.
A Home Office spokesperson said the move sends a "clear message to people-smuggling gangs that illegal entry into the UK will not be tolerated," adding that the UK will continue to detain and remove those arriving by small boats while working with France to operate a legal route for eligible migrants subject to security checks.
The UK-France treaty, effective since early August 2025, allows the UK to detain and remove migrants who enter via small boats, blocking their access to the UK asylum system, while France agrees to take back those returned.
Since the scheme’s launch, four migrants have been deported to France, including nationals from India, Eritrea, Iran, and Afghanistan. The government expects the number of returns and arrivals through the legal route to increase as the pilot progresses.
More than 32,000 people have crossed the Channel by small boats so far in 2025, with the number of crossings slightly below last year’s record levels. French authorities report having prevented over 17,600 attempted crossings this year but cite maritime law restrictions on intervening once boats are in the water unless there is a threat to life.
The pilot scheme is planned to run until June 2026, with an initial target of returning and admitting around 50 migrants per week under the reciprocal arrangement.
The UK government hopes the agreement will reduce dangerous and illegal Channel crossings by demonstrating that migrants may be immediately returned to France if they attempt the journey unlawfully. However, critics argue the scheme will only affect a small fraction of arrivals and call for more comprehensive safe routes for asylum seekers.
The issue of Channel crossings remains politically sensitive in the UK, with Prime Minister Starmer emphasizing his commitment to tackling the problem and dismantling criminal smuggling networks profiting from human misery.
Last week, former US President Donald Trump urged the UK government to deploy the military to stop small boat crossings, a suggestion met with skepticism by UK military experts.
The Home Office continues to monitor and enforce the new immigration measures as part of its broader strategy to manage migration and asylum claims.
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