UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced a pilot agreement with France for the exchange of migrants, set to begin in the next few weeks.
“I am pleased to announce our agreement today on a groundbreaking returns pilot,” Starmer said during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. “For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order.”
In exchange for every migrant returned, a different individual will be allowed to travel to the UK “via a safe route, controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks.”
Only migrants “who have not tried to enter the UK illegally” will be eligible for this legal migration route, Starmer stressed.
The agreement was unveiled during a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom by the French President that began on Tuesday.
Last year, nearly 37,000 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats, a 25% increase from the previous year.
This rising trend has continued, with 8,180 crossings recorded this year, a 31% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
