The UK government is preparing to unveil a new migrant exchange agreement with France, known as the “one-in, one-out” deal, aimed at curbing the surge in illegal Channel crossings and breaking smuggling networks. According to reports from The Times, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to formally announce the initiative next week.
Under this new plan, individuals deported from the UK would be exchanged for others in France who have legitimate reasons to relocate to Britain, such as family reunification. The approach is designed to send a clear message: those who pay smugglers for a small boat journey to the UK could be swiftly returned to France.
A government source quoted in the report said the deal would begin as a pilot programme to demonstrate that illegal crossings come with immediate consequences. “If you pay for your passage on a boat then you could quite quickly find yourself back in France,” the source noted.
The UK previously signed a £480 million agreement with France in 2023, during Rishi Sunak’s term, to strengthen joint patrols and migration controls. Since then, Prime Minister Starmer has promised to “smash the gangs” profiting from migrant smuggling across the English Channel.
However, the number of small boat arrivals continues to rise. According to Home Office data, 17,817 people have crossed the Channel so far in 2025, compared to 12,313 at the same time last year and 10,518 in 2023. These increasing numbers underline the challenges the UK faces despite previous enforcement efforts.
The Conservative Party has dismissed the proposed deal as ineffective. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the move, calling it a “gimmick” and accusing Labour of failing to demand real enforcement from France. “We pay the French half a billion pounds to wave the boats off from Calais, and in return we get a migrant merry-go-round,” he said.
Talks around such a migrant exchange surfaced earlier in April when transport minister Lilian Greenwood confirmed ongoing discussions with the French government. She emphasised that the goal was to end the “appalling and dangerous” human trafficking trade and stated that individuals without the right to remain in the UK “need to be returned.”
What is the UK-France ‘one in, one out’ migrant deal?
It’s a planned migrant exchange system where the UK returns illegal small boat arrivals to France, and in return accepts legal migrants with family ties to Britain. The aim is to reduce dangerous Channel crossings and disrupt smuggling operations.