UK-France migrant returns scheme expected to end as talks stall

The UK and France are expected to bring their “one in one out” arrangement for Channel crossings to an end on Thursday, according to UK government sources cited by the Guardian. The scheme allowed some people who arrived in the UK by small boat to be returned to France, while a reciprocal number of asylum seekers with links to the UK were brought from France. More than 1,400 people who crossed the Channel had been sent back under the arrangement, with a similar number transferred in the opposite direction.

Talks between officials from the two countries have continued in Paris, but negotiations have reportedly stalled. France is seeking a wider agreement involving the European Union, while the UK has wanted to increase the number of removals under the bilateral pilot. A UK government source said ministers would prefer the scheme to continue but believed it had not reached a scale capable of acting as a significant deterrent.

Flights involving people already detained under the arrangement are expected to continue for several weeks after the formal end of the deal. The pilot was extended from April to 1 October after the two governments launched it in 2025. France has described it as time-limited and has argued that it should not carry responsibility for the arrangement alone.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs that each return to France cost about £56,000. She also said expanding the operation had been difficult because of practical constraints, including available detention space. A total of 19,135 people crossed the English Channel in small boats between January and 27 September, according to the supplied figures.

That was 42% lower than during the same period the previous year.