LONDON, April 17, 2025 — The UK government is in advanced discussions with France over a potential pilot scheme aimed at tackling the growing number of illegal Channel crossings by small boats.
The initiative, based on a “one-for-one” principle, would see undocumented migrants returned to France in exchange for the UK accepting an equal number of legal migrants under family reunification grounds.
The French interior ministry confirmed that the talks are part of a broader strategy to dismantle smuggling networks and reduce the risks faced by migrants undertaking the perilous journey across the English Channel.
“This pilot scheme could pave the way for a more comprehensive agreement on migrant returns within the European Union,” a spokesperson for the French ministry said.
“It is based on a one-for-one principle: for each legal admission under family reunification, there would be a corresponding readmission of undocumented migrants who managed to cross.”
The proposal comes amid growing political pressure in the UK over illegal immigration and follows the Labour government’s decision last year to cancel the controversial Rwanda deportation policy introduced by the previous Conservative administration.
The Conservative Party has since criticized Labour for removing what they described as a key deterrent against illegal immigration.
UK Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood, speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, confirmed that conversations with France regarding migration were ongoing, but declined to comment directly on the reported removals deal.
“I can confirm that there are discussions ongoing with the French government about how we stop this appalling and dangerous trade in people that’s happening across the English Channel,” she said.
The discussions, first reported by the Financial Times, mark a significant shift in bilateral cooperation on migration between the UK and France.
France has long expressed frustration over being a staging point for migrants aiming to reach British shores, while the UK has sought more effective mechanisms for returning those deemed ineligible for asylum.
Migration expert Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said the success of the scheme would hinge on its scale.
“The deterrent effect of this measure is likely to depend on how many small boats arrivals are transferred back to France,” he told the BBC.
“In the short term, it won’t reduce our responsibility for the number of asylum seekers we take in. The hope would be that if we send sufficiently large numbers back to France, that would have a deterrent effect.”
The UK has seen a rise in illegal Channel crossings in recent years, with thousands making the dangerous trip annually despite increased enforcement and surveillance efforts.
While the exact number of returns proposed under the pilot remains unclear, both governments appear hopeful that the scheme could serve as a model for broader EU-UK migration cooperation in the post-Brexit era.
Human rights advocates and refugee organizations have yet to comment formally on the proposal, but any future agreement is expected to draw scrutiny over its humanitarian implications and operational transparency.
