By Kavita Mistry 
The U.K. has returned the first person to France, under a migrant return deal signed by the French and British governments in July. The man is an Indian citizen as per reporting from the BBC and the Telegraph. The French Interior Ministry confirmed for The Hindu that one migrant was received by France on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) but declined to confirm citizenship details.
The deal to return migrants arriving on ‘small boats’ from France across the English Channel was announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s State visit to the U.K. in July. For every migrant returned to France, the U.K. will accept a vetted migrant from France under the ‘one-in one-out’ arrangement. Preference would be given to those who have U.K. ties.
Also Read | U.K., France announce migration deal, say Ukraine peacekeeping coalition is ready
“A man who arrived in the UK by small boat in August was removed on a commercial flight this morning marking another major step in the government’s action to dismantle the criminal networks profiting from human misery,” the U.K. Home Office said in a statement that did not specify the man’s citizenship.
The U.K. government said more flights are due to take off this week and next.
The government, which has pitched much of its push against illegal migration as a fight against people smuggling gangs, boosted funding for Border Security in August by £100 million to disrupt trafficking gangs.
Also Read | EU says it will ‘assess’ France-U.K. migrant deal
The deal will run on a trial basis until July 2026. However, the process has already run into legal issues, with migrants not making it on deportation flights scheduled for earlier this week.
The High Court in London blocked a 25-year-old Eritrean man from being returned to France to allow his lawyers more time to provide evidence that he may have been the victim of modern-day slavery. Several others who were to be deported also had legal challenges that prevented their removal.
“I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts,” newly appointed U.K. Home Minister Shabana Mahmoud said.
Also Read | Number of migrants reaching the U.K. in small boats in a single day hits a 2025 high
The Home Office has also begun to review the country’s modern slavery legislation. Ms. Mahmoud’s comments were condemned as “deeply concerning” by the independent anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons.
“The U.K. 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,” Ms. Mahmoud said.