A family of three, which includes a young child, has become the first group to enter the UK under an agreement with France known as the “one-in, one-out” deal. This deal was established to provide a lawful pathway for asylum seekers, aiming to deter individuals from attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.
According to the terms of the agreement, the UK will welcome individuals with valid asylum claims in France who have not previously tried to cross into the UK. In exchange, France will repatriate an equivalent number of migrants who have crossed the Channel in fragile vessels, following a reciprocal “one-in, one-out” arrangement. Recently, the first four individuals were returned to France as part of this agreement.
This initiative is part of efforts led by Keir Starmer to dismantle the operations of criminal organizations facilitating these dangerous crossings, which led to a minimum of 78 fatalities in 2024. The UK-France deal, which came into effect last month, authorizes the government to detain individuals arriving by small boats and deport them before they enter the asylum system.
After the arrival of the initial group from France, a spokesperson from the Home Office stated, “The UK-France deal marks a significant milestone, and these initial actions are crucial. It sends a clear message to human trafficking networks that illegal entry into the UK will not be tolerated. We will persist in detaining and repatriating those who arrive by small boat.”
The government is actively working to halt the influx of people undertaking the perilous voyage to Britain in small boats. Since the implementation of the agreement, 32,188 individuals have arrived in the UK via small boats in 2025, with over 1,000 arrivals in a single day last Friday following the returns to Paris initiated under the agreement.
Ministers are optimistic that the deportations will dissuade asylum seekers from engaging smugglers to facilitate their journey to the UK. The government plans to escalate the number of individuals being repatriated under the pilot scheme, which is scheduled to run until June of next year.