UK Scraps Migrant Deal with France After Just Over a Year
Labour's 'one in, one out' agreement for returning Channel small boat migrants to France has been terminated, with the Home Office citing that it is 'no longer processing new cases.'
The United Kingdom has ended a reciprocal migrant deal with France, less than 14 months after its implementation. The Home Office announced that the scheme, designed to return small boat migrants crossing the English Channel to France, is no longer accepting new cases.
The initiative, a cornerstone of the Labour government's strategy to address Channel crossings, was scrapped just over a year after its first migrant removal on September 18, 2025. While existing cases will continue, the termination of new entries marks a blow to Labour's efforts to manage the ongoing migrant crisis and could potentially lead to an increase in small boat arrivals.
Under the agreement, approximately 1,500 migrants were returned to France, while a similar number were brought to the UK under reciprocal terms. The Home Office stated that flights for the swift removal of small boat migrants from the UK will continue.
"We continue to work with France to relentlessly tackle small boat crossings, and we’ve made real progress," a Home Office spokesman said. "Numbers are significantly down on last year and crossings this summer were the lowest in six years. The government’s pilot with France to remove asylum seekers in exchange for an equal number of legal migrants is no longer processing new cases."
Labour had previously abandoned the Conservative government's Rwanda asylum plan upon taking office in 2024. The current government has emphasized increased law enforcement and closer cooperation with French authorities as its primary methods for tackling the Channel crisis.
Migrants attempt to board a smuggler's boat off the beach of Equihen-Plage, northern France.
There had been expectations that the 'one in, one out' deal would be extended. However, France has expressed a desire for a broader agreement that would involve the UK accepting migrants not only from France but also from other European Union countries.
Recent reports indicated that the cost of returning each small boat migrant to France under the deal had risen to £56,000, an increase from previous estimates below £50,000. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also noted that the number of migrants involved in the scheme was "relatively small" and that scaling up removals had been "operationally difficult."