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What Is In The UK's New 'Groundbreaking' One-In, One-Out Migrant Deal With France?

8 1
05.08.2025

Best mates? Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeting French President Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street last month.

Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer are launching their new deal which is meant to clamp down on illegal migrant crossings today.

While the agreement will only be run on a trial basis for the next 11 months, detentions are expected to start within a matter of days, with removals kicking off in a few weeks.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is in the deal?

The UK and France will be ratifying their one-in, one-out returns policy on Tuesday after it was announced last month.

It means any undocumented person entering the UK on a small boat can now be detained immediately and returned to France.

The deal will only apply to people who try to enter the UK from here onwards, rather than those who came across prior to this ratification.

The UK has to accept just as many migrants from France in exchange, albeit through a new asylum route.

Anyone who has tried to get to Britain illegally will not be let in.

Those who have family connections in the UK will also be prioritised.

Previous reports suggested the plan would allow up to 50 small boat migrants – arriving in the UK via the English Channel – to be sent back to France every week.

That works out to 2,600 a year. That may sound like a lot, but it is still just a tiny fraction of the 35,000 arrivals who touched down in Britain after crossing the Channel last year.

However, home secretary Yvette Cooperwho has described the deal as “groundbreaking” – told Sky News this morning that “the........

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