Overview
- The Home Office has added 15 new partners—from Angola and Australia to Canada and Malaysia—bringing the total to 23 countries in the programme.
- About 5,200 convicted foreign nationals have been removed since the scheme began in July 2024, marking a 14% year-on-year rise in deportations.
- Convicted individuals are expelled before serving sentences in the UK but retain the right to appeal in their country of origin.
- The government cites annual prison costs of £54,000 per inmate and says the expansion will ease overcrowding and reduce legal backlogs.
- Whether expelled prisoners serve time abroad depends on destination-country policies, so some may be released upon arrival.