Sunita Somvanshi
The UK-France pilot agreement designed to manage small-boat Channel crossings through a bilateral exchange system has been scrapped, with the Home Office confirming on September 30 that it is no longer processing new cases. The scheme ran for 423 days. About 1,500 people were returned to France during that period.
What the scheme was and what it tried to do
Under the agreement, people who arrived in the UK by small boat could be returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers transferred to Britain through a legal route. Home Office data records approximately 1,087 returns to France and 1,117 transfers into Britain between August 6, 2025 and June 30, 2026. About 1,500 returns took place across the full period of the scheme.
Why the deal fell apart
The UK government's stated reason for not extending the scheme was that it had not been able to scale up the numbers of people involved to the level it had hoped. France, for its part, had indicated it did not want to continue as the sole European partner in a bilateral arrangement and wanted a broader EU-wide approach to Channel migration rather than a France-only agreement with the UK.
What happens now
The Home Office confirmed the pilot is no longer processing new cases. Some previously arranged returns can still proceed.
The ending of the pilot leaves the UK without this specific bilateral returns framework. The Home Office has not announced a replacement arrangement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the UK-France migrant deal cancelled?
The UK government said the scheme had not been able to scale up numbers as hoped. France wanted a broader European approach to Channel migration rather than continuing as the UK's sole bilateral partner in such an arrangement.
What was the 'one-in, one-out' migration proposal?
A bilateral pilot under which the UK could return one small-boat arrival to France for each person transferred to the UK through a legal route. It ran for 423 days and resulted in approximately 1,500 returns to France against a background of tens of thousands of Channel crossings during the same period.
How many migrants crossed the Channel during the scheme?
Home Office data covers August 6, 2025 to June 30, 2026. About 1,087 people were returned to France and 1,117 transferred to the UK during that window.
The government has not announced a replacement returns arrangement. Coverage will update if new bilateral or multilateral frameworks are proposed.
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