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3 clusters · 33 sources · 20 days · First seen · Last updated

UK and France end “one in, one out” migrant exchange deal

Overview

The bilateral “one in, one out” migrant exchange pilot agreement between the United Kingdom and France has officially ended. The scheme, designed to curb small-boat crossings in the English Channel, was no longer processing new cases as of late September 2026.

Under the arrangement, the UK returned undocumented migrants arriving by boat to France in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers through safe and legal routes. While the program aimed to deter smugglers, it fell short of its target of 2,600 exchanges. Final figures indicate approximately 1,500 individuals were returned to France, while a similar number were admitted to the UK.

France has maintained its position of moving away from bilateral arrangements, with Interior Minister Laurent Nunez advocating for a broader EU-wide agreement. The UK Home Office confirmed that while the exchange of undocumented arrivals for legitimate asylum seekers with family ties has ended, deportation flights for those already detained will continue through the end of October.

The UK government noted that small-boat arrivals have decreased by approximately 40% compared to the previous year and stated it remains committed to working with France to tackle illegal crossings, specifically regarding the interception of small boats. Humanitarian organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières, have continued to criticize the scheme, citing psychological distress and poor detention conditions for those involved.

Entities

European Union · Emmanuel Macron · France · Shabana Mahmood · Laurent Nunez

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Coverage disagrees

Sources make claims that cannot both be true. CLSTR reports the disagreement; it does not decide who is right.

  • "As of the end of June, 1,117 people were brought to the UK under the deal."

    vs

    "Approximately 1,400 people have been deported to France under the scheme so far."

    The claims provide different totals for the number of people involved in the scheme (1,400 vs 1,117).

Timeline

  1. [INTERNATIONAL] 3 sources
    Migration policy shifts in the EU and UK

    The EU has adopted stricter migration return rules, while the UK has ended its migrant exchange agreement with France, though cooperation on Channel crossings continues.

  2. [INTERNATIONAL] 29 sources
    UK and France discuss ending bilateral migration pilot scheme

    The UK and France are discussing the end of their “one in, one out” migration pilot scheme, which exchanged undocumented arrivals for legal asylum seekers to manage English Channel crossings.

  3. [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources
    France proposes replacing UK migrant deal with EU-wide agreement

    France aims to replace its bilateral migrant exchange deal with the UK with an EU-wide agreement, seeking to distribute asylum responsibilities across all 27 member states.

Sources

24-ore.com · arabnews.pk · bairdmaritime.com · businessdaily.gr · devdiscourse.com · edmonton.citynews.ca · fjala.al · france24.com · gbnews.com · independent.co.uk · index.hr · ipreunion.com · it.euronews.com · kitchener.citynews.ca · la-croix.com · latimes.com · legacy.blisty.cz · lesinguliersete.fr · news1130.com · newsimg.bbc.co.uk · notretemps.com · off.net.mk · polityka.co.pl · pravnenoviny.sk · prezly.msf.org.uk · rfi.fr · rt.com · SeznamZpravy.cz · sigmalive.com · theguardian.com · toronto.citynews.ca · world-today-journal.com · wtop.com

This summary has been updated 5 times: see revision history