UK returned 1,100 migrants to France under ‘one in, one out’ deal
In the first 11 months of the UK’s “one in, one out” immigration deal with France, asylum seekers outnumbered arrivals, official figures show.
Home Office data released on Thursday shows that 1,117 people went to the UK from France between August 2025 and June 2026, while 1,087 people were deported.
The agreement, which aims to prevent channel crossings, allows people from the UK to return to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers using safe and legal routes.
These are the first official figures for the pilot program since its launch on August 6, 2025.
In the first month of the agreement, no migrants returned or arrived. Although the number of arrivals generally exceeded those deported, in some periods, such as March 2026, there were more outward transfers (109) than (73).
Downing Street has previously defended the plan, which is set to be in place until June, arguing that figures will “fluctuate”.
At the time, Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood told LBC there were “practical issues about how quickly you can detain people, then put them on a plane and take them to France” and later promised to “increase the numbers”.
A family of three, including a young child, were the first immigrants to arrive in the UK under the immigration deal in September. It is understood they were given three-month visas without the right to work and without the right to benefit from public funds.
Authorities said that at least two immigrants tried to cross the English Channel and return to England after being extradited to France under the agreement, but they were detained and would be sent back again.
Last week, Ms Mahmood vowed to challenge a High Court ruling that found the decision to cut protections for potential trafficking victims considered under the scheme was unlawful.
