UK-France migrant exchange pilot stops taking new cases

The UK-France “one in, one out” migrant exchange pilot is no longer processing new cases, the UK Home Office said on Wednesday. Flights returning people already detained under the scheme are expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Agreed in 2025, the arrangement allowed the UK to return some people who crossed the Channel in small boats to France, in exchange for asylum seekers applying to travel to Britain through legal routes. It was intended to run for three years, with an initial target of 2,600 exchanges and a clause allowing early termination.

Home Office figures cited in the report show 1,117 asylum seekers travelled from France to the UK between August 2025 and June 2026, while 1,087 people were returned.

The report gives no formal end date and does not say whether France has agreed to terminate the scheme. The Home Office said it would continue working with France to tackle small-boat crossings.

Channel crossings have fallen this year amid several possible factors, including increased police patrols and surveillance in northern France. The figures do not establish that the exchange pilot caused the decline.