UK returned 1,400 migrants to France; each removal costs €65,400

The United Kingdom has returned about 1,400 people to France under a bilateral pilot scheme, and the operation is costing taxpayers roughly £56,000 per person — about €65,400, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Home Affairs Committee.

Mahmood gave the figures while answering questions on the scheme's cost-effectiveness and said she would follow up with written numbers. She told MPs: "I'll have to provide the Committee with the latest figures in writing. I think per person, for the number of people returned so far, the amount is approximately £56,000 (€65,400)."

How the pilot works

Launched in August 2025, the pilot returns people who arrive in small boats to France in exchange for asylum-seekers who apply to enter the UK by legal routes. The Home Office has carried out roughly 1,400 returns since the scheme began, though the government acknowledged some of those people later came back to the UK.

The temporary arrangement has already been extended once and is set to expire in October. French officials want the bilateral deal to be replaced in time by a broader EU–UK return agreement.

The pilot includes a voluntary departure option for some families who have had asylum claims refused. Only a relatively small number of families have chosen to take part. Under the offer, families can receive up to £40,000 (about €46,700) to help them resettle in their country of origin; the alternative is to remain in the UK with access to free healthcare and schooling for their children.

Ministers and lawmakers remain divided over whether the scheme delivers value for money and what its long-term status should be after the pilot ends.

Photo: EPA-EFE/ETIENNE LAURENT