Overview
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the agreement with Vietnamese leader To Lam at Downing Street, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also signing alongside her counterpart.
- The government bills the pact as Vietnam’s strongest migration deal with any country and says it could enable up to four times as many returns of people with no right to remain.
- The plan introduces biometric data sharing, streamlined documentation and intensified intelligence cooperation aimed at disrupting criminal smuggling networks.
- Downing Street reports an initial 75% reduction in document processing time, with a trajectory toward about 90%, alongside claims of savings for taxpayers.
- Officials frame the move as part of a wider international returns strategy that includes the August UK–France treaty, and it coincides with a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership spanning defence, security, trade, climate and growth.