Key facts
- The UK's "one in, one out" asylum scheme costs about £56,000 per person returned to France.
- Around 1,400 people have been removed to France since the scheme started in August 2025.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defended the cost, comparing it to a year of hotel support.
- France wants the bilateral arrangement replaced by a wider EU-UK returns deal.
- The pilot scheme is scheduled to continue until October 2026.
- A separate pilot offers rejected asylum-seeking families up to £40,000 to leave Britain voluntarily.
The UK government's "one in, one out" asylum scheme, initiated in August 2025, is proving costly, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealing to MPs that each person returned to France under the arrangement costs approximately £56,000. Mahmood disclosed this figure while facing questions from the home affairs select committee regarding the scheme's value for taxpayers. Since its inception, about 1,400 individuals have been removed to France, though some have subsequently found their way back to the UK.
Mahmood defended the expense, stating that the cost is comparable to, or less than, supporting an individual in a hotel for a year. The "one in, one out" deal involves the UK sending individuals who arrive by small boats back to France in exchange for accepting an asylum seeker through a legal route. The pilot program has been extended and is currently slated to run until October 2026, with its long-term continuation undecided.
France has indicated a preference for the bilateral arrangement to be superseded by a broader EU-UK returns agreement, moving away from the current pilot. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez-Belda has reportedly informed Mahmood of his desire to conclude the scheme, emphasizing that France should not bear this responsibility alone and that integration into an EU-UK accord would be preferable. He has stated that the pilot agreement, signed in August 2025, was not intended for renewal beyond October 1, 2026.
Mahmood acknowledged that the scheme has faced operational challenges, including constraints on detention space, which have hindered scaling up removals to larger numbers. She also noted that relatively small numbers of rejected asylum-seeking families have opted for a separate government pilot offering up to £40,000 for voluntary departure. This offer contrasts with the provision of free healthcare and education for children if they remain in the UK.