The UK and France have agreed on a new deal aimed at preventing tens of thousands of migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. The “one-in-one-out” agreement, which was reached during talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is designed to deter migrants by taking back asylum seekers who have crossed over to the UK and offering them a chance to claim asylum in France.
Under the deal, for each migrant that France takes back, the UK will grant asylum to one migrant from France who can prove a family connection to the UK. The initial plan is to send 50 migrants to France per week as part of a pilot scheme, with plans to scale up if successful.
The agreement comes after a surge in small boat arrivals across the Channel, with over 20,000 people making the journey so far this year. The number has risen by 56% compared to the same period last year, and experts warn that many migrants are taking the risk of crossing due to lack of knowledge about EU asylum laws.
French President Macron has criticized the UK’s lenient immigration laws, saying one-third of all migrants arriving in France intend to move on to the UK. However, the UK disputes this claim, arguing that people are drawn to it for family and diaspora ties, as well as fluency in English.
The deal was reached amid growing pressure from the far-right Reform UK party, which has pledged to clamp down on migrant arrivals by sea. The Conservative Party had previously promised a similar policy, but Labour scrapped it after coming to power.
The agreement has been welcomed by some, with French police taking steps to damage small boats and slash their rubber frames with knives. However, others have expressed concerns that the deal could result in France becoming a “return hub” for migrants that the UK refuses to accept.
The policy faces potential legal challenges under the UN Refugee Convention, which mandates asylum seekers’ rights to request protection. European nations are also concerned about the status of migrants returning from Britain to France, citing the lack of EU cooperation on this issue.
As the UK and France continue to navigate this complex crisis, experts warn that the success of the deal will depend on its ability to deter migrants without causing unintended consequences.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/10/whats-in-the-one-in-one-out-migrant-deal-between-the-uk-and-france