UK ends 'one in, one out' migrant returns deal with France

Only about 4% of small-boat arrivals were sent back under the year-long pilot, which cost an average of €65,500 per return, as Paris pushes for an EU-wide replacement.

The UK's Home Office said on Wednesday that its year-old deal with France to return migrants crossing the Channel on small boats had ended.

"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," the Home Office said, confirming the end of the so-called "one in, one out" deal, which was launched in August last year and was due to expire on Thursday.

The scheme, known as Operation Hillmore, was part of efforts by London and Paris to tackle illegal migration across the English Channel.

Under the arrangement, Britain could return to France some migrants who arrived illegally by small boat and were judged to have no right to remain in the UK. In exchange, Britain accepted an equal number of asylum seekers from France considered likely to qualify for protection, with priority given to vulnerable nationalities and people with family or other links to the UK.

The two countries agreed in June to extend the pilot until 1 October. The most recent Home Office figures show that 1,087 people were returned to France between 4 August 2025 and 30 June 2026, while 1,117 were transferred to the UK under the scheme. Over the same period, 27,920 migrants arrived in the UK on small boats, meaning only about 4% of arrivals were sent back.

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