Migrants who arrived in the UK on a small boat have been detained for the first time under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal and are expected to be returned within three weeks, the Home Office has said.
Detentions began on Wednesday lunchtime, with those identified in the Channel boat being held in immigration removal centres pending their removal.
The UK would make referrals to France within three days, and the French authorities would be expected to respond within 14 days, officials said.
From Wednesday, a small proportion of migrants arriving on small boats will be selected for removal to France and in return, Britain will accept an equal number of asylum seekers from France.
Questions remain over the treaty implementing the “one in, one out” agreement, with immigration lawyers warning that its confusingly worded terms could be challenged by anyone attempting to block their return to France.
The reciprocal scheme allowing asylum seekers with links to the UK has also begun. Applicants must satisfy the eligibility and suitability criteria, including uploading a passport or other identity documents as well as a recent photograph.
Those selected will have to pass further stringent security checks and biometric controls, meaning that only those individuals who the UK government has approved for entry will be allowed through the new route.
As the one-in, one-out pilot scheme continues into its implementation phase, the Home Office is also launching a campaign warning people not to risk their money or their life, to be promoted in the coming days across multiple channels.
The deal has been trumpeted by ministers as a “gamechanging” deal but Home Office sources said it would apply only to about 50 asylum seekers at first.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said: “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.”
A copy of the agreement was released on Tuesday as the prime minister comes under increasing pressure to stop boats carrying asylum seekers from crossing the Channel.
The UK will pay the costs of transporting asylum seekers to and from France. The deal will have to be renewed by 11 June next year, and can be ended at a month’s notice by either side.
If people have an outstanding claim for asylum, they cannot be removed, the deal says.
France can reject a requested removal if it “considers that an individual would be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states”.
So far in 2025, more than 25,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats – a record for this point in the year since data began being collected in 2018. This is up 48% on this point last year.
