Key Takeaways
- The UK‑France “one in, one out” treaty, active since August 2023, lets Britain reject Channel‑crossing migrants deemed ineligible for asylum while accepting an equal number of non‑boat migrants from France.
- By June 2024 the UK had returned 1,087 people to France and admitted 1,117 migrants who first sought entry in France; over 41,000 irregular landings were recorded in 2023, the second‑highest total since 2018.
- More than twenty charities in both countries condemn the deal, arguing it adds further trauma to people who have already endured war, torture, persecution, trafficking, and dangerous sea voyages.
- Individual stories—such as Hamedullah’s flight from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover and the Yemeni brothers’ escape from Houthi‑controlled Yemen—illustrate how the policy leaves vulnerable migrants in legal limbo, detained, and repeatedly shuffled between states without lasting protection.
- Despite government claims that the agreement disrupts smuggling networks, affected individuals describe feeling like “objects,” highlighting a gap between policy aims and the lived reality of those seeking safety.
Overview of the UK‑France “one in, one out” agreement
The United Kingdom and France enacted a bilateral treaty on August 6 last year that allows the UK to refuse asylum to migrants who crossed the English Channel illegally if they are deemed ineligible for protection. In exchange, London accepts an equal number of migrants from France who have not used the small‑boat route. The deal, initially set to run until the end of September and subsequently extended, was presented by both governments as a tool to dismantle people‑smuggling networks and to curb the perilous Channel crossings that have claimed many lives. Critics argue that the arrangement merely shifts vulnerability rather than solving it.
Statistics on migrant returns and admissions
By the end of June, the UK had forcibly returned 1,087 individuals to France under the treaty, while admitting 1,117 migrants who had first sought entry in France. In 2023, more than 41,000 migrants landed on England’s south coast, marking the second‑highest annual total since systematic recording began in 2018. These figures illustrate both the scale of irregular migration and the mechanics of the “one in, one out” exchange, which seeks to keep the net flow balanced while each state processes its own share of asylum claims.
Criticism from charities and NGOs
More than twenty charities operating in both the UK and France have condemned the agreement, stating that it inflicts “further harm on people who have already survived war, torture, persecution, violence, human trafficking, and a treacherous sea journey.” The NGOs argue that returning individuals to a country where they may face renewed danger or prolonged detention undermines international protection obligations and treats vulnerable migrants as bargaining chips rather than as persons entitled to safety and dignity.
Personal story: Hamedullah’s flight from Afghanistan
Hamedullah, a 28‑year‑old Afghan man with chubby cheeks and jet‑black hair, fled his homeland after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Leaving his wife and two young children—who turn eight and ten this year—in Pakistan, he embarked on a solitary journey toward safety. After attempting a dozen crossings into Europe via Greece and Bulgaria, he finally reached the continent, only to be thwarted repeatedly by asylum authorities.
Journey through Europe and asylum attempts
In June 2022 Austrian police stopped Hamedullah, and his asylum claim was denied twice. After exhausting all appeals in February 2023 for his EU protection request, he concluded that remaining within the bloc offered no viable path to safety. Determined to reach a country where he could seek refuge, he set his sights on the United Kingdom, opting for the perilous Channel crossing as his last resort.
Channel crossing and detention in the UK
To reach England, Hamedullah paid roughly 1,500 euros to smugglers in Dunkirk and launched a dinghy into one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. French police thwarted an initial attempt, but in April he succeeded after eight hours of lying in wait on the beach and standing in the water. Upon landing in Dover, authorities separated women and children for hotel accommodation while detaining solitary men like him; he was transferred to a removal centre near Heathrow airport, where he joined about 350 others in a bleak routine of eating, waiting, and watching a single television channel.
Legal proceedings and forced return to France
During his detention, Hamedullah met with a lawyer for a brief thirty‑minute consultation. Fifty‑one days later, he was flown back to France under the UK‑France return agreement, despite insisting he had committed no crime and noting his prior service alongside Western forces fighting the Taliban. He now fears that French authorities may soon send him onward to Austria, leaving him feeling “lost, completely lost,” and questioning where he might ever find safety.
Personal story: Yemeni brothers Yunes and Yassin
Yunes, 33, and his younger brother Yassin, 24, fled Yemen after Houthi rebels seized their capital eight years earlier. Both brothers suffer from a genetic eye condition and, fearing reprisals, asked that their family name not be disclosed. They spent eighteen months in Egypt before moving toward Europe, where they encountered death threats from drug‑operating gangs in France, prompting them to seek a safer route to the United Kingdom to reunite with their sister, a British national.
Experience in France and Channel crossing
When the brothers’ small boat—carrying about sixty passengers—reached Dover after fifteen hours at sea, they were first taken to a reception centre and offered cake and orange juice. Officials then questioned them, with an interior‑ministry employee labeling Yunes a criminal for entering the country illegally. Despite their sister’s efforts to assist, the brothers were detained for several weeks and finally returned to France on a plane in late May. Speaking from a refugee shelter in central France, Yunes described feeling “like an object,” overwhelmed by sadness and uncertainty about his future.
Current situation and broader implications
Both Hamedullah and the Yemeni brothers now languish in limbo, awaiting decisions that could determine whether they will be granted protection, expelled again, or sent onward to another country. Their testimonies highlight the human cost of the UK‑France “one in, one out” arrangement: individuals who have survived conflict and perilous journeys are shuttled between states, subjected to detention, and left with little agency over their fates. As charities warn, the deal risks compounding trauma rather than alleviating it, raising pressing questions about Europe’s responsibility to offer genuine refuge to those in need.