 "Why UK has deported an Indian man to France")
The United Kingdom has deported the first person who illegally entered the country through a cross-channel small boat to France. The migrant removed on Thursday (September 18) morning is believed to be from India.
The man was deported to France under the controversial one-in, one-out deal between London and Paris. More deportations are expected to take place through next week.
Let’s take a closer look.
Indian man deported from the UK
An Indian national was deported from the UK on an Air France plane, under the new UK-France agreement.
The man had reportedly arrived in the UK aboard a small boat in August. He had threatened legal action against his deportation, but that did not stop his removal, as per The Telegraph.
He is the first of about 100 Channel migrants detained by Border Force at the beginning of last month.
The British newspaper further reported that the French had requested an Indian migrant to offer him a voluntary return to his homeland under a scheme where the French government pays the airfare and offers €2,500 (Rs 2.6 lakh). If the man refuses to return to India, he will face forced removal from France.
As per The Guardian, the leaflet provided to detainees for France by the UK Home Office, accommodation in France will be offered “for the first days of your arrival. Options offered to new arrivals include financial assistance if you choose to return to your country of origin.”
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said this was an “important first step” to secure the UK’s borders. “It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.
“I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts. The UK will always play its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but this must be done through safe, legal and managed routes, not dangerous crossings.”
Today, we have dealt a blow to the smuggler gangs.
— Shabana Mahmood MP (@ShabanaMahmood) September 18, 2025
The removal of small boat migrants to France has begun.
I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders – and this is a vital first step. pic.twitter.com/qIf6wm5YI1
As part of the “one-in, one-out” exchange deal, the first legal arrivals from France to the UK were expected “in the coming days”, reported AFP.
More deportations to happen
On Thursday evening, the High Court in London rejected an attempt by an Eritrean man to halt his removal on a 6.15 am (10:45 am IST) flight to France on Friday morning.
The judge, Justice Sheldon, ruled that the man would have an opportunity to present his trafficking case in France.
“It seems there are significant public interest in favour of the claimant’s removal, the balance of convenience clearly favours removal,” the judge was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
His lawyers had argued that he may have been the victim of trafficking.
Earlier, the High Court had halted the immediate removal of another Eritrean man to France. It gave him 14 days to provide evidence that he was a victim of trafficking.
The UK government has said it will appeal against the High Court’s decision.
Mahmood has ordered a review of the UK’s modern slavery laws to prevent migrants from making “vexatious last-minute” appeals to block their deportations.
The UK Home Office said: “Today we will lodge an appeal to the court of appeal to limit the time the person has to provide evidence for reconsideration.”
This came following three consecutive days when the Home Office failed to remove a single migrant under the pilot scheme due to legal challenges largely based on claims that these people had been victims of modern slavery and trafficking.
What is UK-France’s one-in, one-out scheme?
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the “ one-in, one-out” agreement in July.
Under the pilot scheme, the UK can send migrants who enter the country on small boats back to France. People who cross the English Channel and are deemed ineligible for asylum, including those who passed through a “safe country” to reach UK shores, will be sent to France.
For each person returned, the UK will allow entry to an asylum seeker through a safe and legal route, with a caveat that they have not previously attempted to enter illegally.
These migrants can apply for a UK visa via an online platform.
The scheme, which came into force in August, will be in place until June 2026.
The policy comes as the Starmer government struggles to control the influx of migrants making dangerous English Channel crossings.
More than 30,000 people have made the crossing so far this year, compared to 37,000 in 2024. Dozens have died in recent years during their attempts to enter the UK’s shores in overcrowded dinghies via one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The UK saw anti-immigrant protests in the summer outside hotels housing asylum seekers. The Starmer government has vowed to prevent small boat crossings.
However, its one-in, one-out deal has been condemned. The “cruel policy targeting people who come here to seek safety” was a “grim attempt… to appease the racist far-right”, Griff Ferris, of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told AFP.
With inputs from agencies
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