The eyewatering cost of returning each dinghy migrant to France | UK | News
Cost of sending immigrants back to France Under the UK’s one-in-one-out policy The agreement emerged. The regulation, which was implemented in August 2025, aims to prevent small boat crossings.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s deal allows the UK to send migrants arriving illegally across the Channel back to France in exchange for directly accepting an equivalent number of refugees who have not attempted to cross France. According to reports, the average cost of returning an immigrant is £48,800, meaning a recent flight could cost taxpayers up to £1.52 million.
There were 32 male migrants, 73 security guards and two paramedics on board a flight from Stansted to Paris recently as part of the country’s one-on-one deal with France.
The cost of forced deportations has risen from around £15,000 per person over the past decade, according to analysis by Oxford University’s Immigration Observatory, The Sun reports.
This includes casework, aircraft charter costs and financial support for expats leaving the UK. The UK must also cover the migrants’ travel costs to and from France under a one-for-one deal.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The one-in-one-out plan is a failure.
“No wonder more illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel under Keir Starmer than any other prime minister.”
In the report published yesterday by HM Prisons Inspectorate, it was stated that all of the men on the flight to Paris in January were detained and held in immigration removal centers after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
More than two staff members were accompanying each person on the trip, and the report also noted that on an earlier flight, three people had to be restrained with waist belts “after exhibiting continued resistance.”
However, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said the Stansted-Paris flight went smoothly.
The Home Office said: “Illegal immigrants and foreign criminals are provided with escorts where risk assessments indicate they are needed.
“Since the 2024 election the Government has saved close to £1 billion on asylum costs and returned or deported nearly 60,000 people.”
