UK-France Channel Migrant Exchange Deal Ends

The UK has ended its year-long “one in, one out” pilot with France, which paired returns of some migrants who crossed the Channel in small boats with the UK’s acceptance of an equal number of asylum seekers from France. The Home Office said the scheme, known as Operation Hillmore, is no longer processing new cases. It had been due to expire on 1 October after the two countries agreed in June to extend it. The latest figures show that 1,087 people were returned to France and 1,117 were transferred to the UK between 4 August 2025 and 30 June 2026. During the same period, 27,920 people arrived in the UK by small boat, so roughly 4% of arrivals were sent back under the scheme. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said returning each migrant cost taxpayers an average of about £56,000 (€65,500). These figures point to the pilot’s limited reach and substantial cost, despite claims that it would deter people-smuggling gangs. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has argued that Brexit reduced the UK’s ability to cooperate with the EU on stopping crossings. His government says it is changing its approach by combining tougher enforcement with safe legal routes, which it believes could weaken smugglers’ appeal. France, meanwhile, has called for a broader European approach and objected to bearing sole responsibility for policing an EU external border, citing weaknesses in controls at first-entry countries and movement within the Schengen area. The article also describes migrants paying smugglers thousands of euros for places on overcrowded boats, and notes that more boats have recently departed from Belgium as smuggling networks seek new launch points. About 197,000 people have crossed the Channel by small boat since the route became a major migration pathway.

The UK and France have scrapped their “one in, one out” pilot programme for migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, the UK Home Office said on Wednesday. The 2025 agreement allowed Britain to detain and return some people who had crossed irregularly to France, in exchange for admitting an equivalent number of asylum seekers who had applied through legal routes. It was intended to deter people-smuggling and ease tensions between the two countries over migration. The scheme is no longer accepting new cases, although deportation flights will continue for people already detained. Its results were limited: from August 2025 to June 2026, 1,117 asylum seekers travelled from France to the UK under the deal, while 1,087 people were deported to France. The arrangement had aimed for 2,600 exchanges and was designed to run for three years, but either side could end it early. UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said the programme had faced operational challenges, particularly in scaling up removals into the French system. French newspaper Le Monde reported that France was keen to end the cooperation, despite pressure from Prime Minister Andy Burnham to continue it. The announcement comes as Channel crossings have fallen sharply in 2026. By Sunday, 19,135 people had crossed from France, 42 percent fewer than by the same point the previous year. The article attributes the decline partly to increased police patrols and surveillance in northern France. It also emphasizes the human cost of the crossings: a child and two women died on a crowded boat on Monday, and at least 22 people have died attempting the crossing this year. Separately, a French court sentenced six men to prison for their roles in the deaths of at least 31 migrants in a November 2021 shipwreck, the deadliest such accident on the route.

The UK-France pilot programme known as “one in, one out,” which aimed to reduce small-boat migrant crossings of the English Channel, has been scrapped, according to the British government. The UK Home Office said on Wednesday that the arrangement is no longer processing new cases after France declined a UK request to extend the cooperation. Under the scheme, people who reached the UK after making the dangerous Channel crossing could be detained and returned to France. In exchange, an equivalent number of asylum seekers who had applied through a safe and legal route could be transferred from France to the UK. The article reports that around 1,500 people have been returned to France under the arrangement, while a slightly smaller number have been transferred to the UK. The programme was intended to run for three years, but its terms included a clause permitting either party to end it earlier. The report does not provide further details about why France declined the extension, when the decision takes effect beyond the programme ceasing to process new cases, or what arrangements may replace it. The article presents the end of the pilot as a development in UK-France cooperation on migration across the Channel, explaining how the reciprocal returns system worked and giving the number of people moved under it.

France and Britain are discussing how to end their “one in, one out” migration agreement, according to a source at France’s interior ministry. The source said the two governments are discussing the terms of withdrawal, but the ministry gave no immediate explanation for France’s move to wind down the arrangement. Britain’s interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Announced the previous year, the agreement was intended to reduce small-boat crossings of the English Channel. Under its terms, Britain returned undocumented people who arrived by small boat to France, while accepting an equal number of legitimate asylum seekers who had family connections in Britain. The agreement set out deadlines and exclusions for transfers. A transfer from Britain to France was targeted to take place within three months of a person’s arrival in Britain, and Britain was required to return an individual within 14 days of arrival. France was not obliged to accept unaccompanied minors or people considered to pose a pre-existing security threat. The report does not say whether the countries have agreed to a withdrawal timetable or what would replace the deal. It also does not provide an explanation from either government for the discussions. The negotiations concern a bilateral arrangement addressing migration across the Channel, including the return of some migrants and the admission of certain asylum seekers with family links to Britain.