Overview

• The returns pilot became operational in early August with Border Force detaining the first small-boat arrivals at Dover and placing them in immigration removal centres.
• Under the treaty the Home Office must refer detained migrants to France within three days and French authorities have 14 days to accept them before removal preparations begin.
• Initial projections target about 50 returns per week rising later in the year, but actual removals remain limited and legal challenges over age, modern slavery and human-rights claims could slow the process.
• Despite deterrence videos and public warnings, record Channel crossings have continued with hundreds arriving since the pilot launched and smugglers openly advertising via social media.
• Humanitarian groups including Amnesty International warn the scheme risks entrenching smuggling networks and argue its modest scale will have little effect on overall migration flows.