A family of three, including a small child, became the first asylum seekers to arrive in the United Kingdom under the government’s much-debated “one in, one out” deal with France, according to multiple reports from BBC and other outlets. The arrival, which took place on September 24, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the UK’s latest attempt to manage the ongoing crisis of small boat crossings in the English Channel—a challenge that has dominated headlines and political discourse for years.
The family’s arrival comes as a direct result of a pilot scheme negotiated earlier in 2025 and launched in August, which aims to create a reciprocal system: for every migrant who crosses the Channel illegally and is returned to France, the UK agrees to accept a vetted asylum seeker from France. The government hopes this approach will serve as a deterrent to those considering the dangerous journey across the Channel while providing a legal pathway for those with legitimate claims.
Under the terms of the agreement, the family has been granted three-month visas, but with significant limitations—they have no right to work and no recourse to public funding, though they can apply to remain in the UK. As BBC noted, this arrangement is intended to offer a controlled, legal route for eligible migrants while maintaining strict oversight and security checks.
The deal was announced back in July and is set to run, at least in its current pilot form, until June 2026. Initially, the scheme is designed to apply only to adults, as children who arrive illegally are not detained under current UK policy. However, the first family admitted under the program includes a small child, highlighting the complexities and exceptions that inevitably arise in real-world implementation.
On the other side of the ledger, four migrants who had arrived in the UK by small boat were recently deported to Paris. According to the Home Office, these individuals included an Indian national, an Eritrean man—whose removal went ahead despite a legal challenge—an Iranian male, and an Afghan national. The removals have not been without controversy; in one instance, the High Court in London granted a last-minute reprieve to an Eritrean man, giving him at least 14 days to present evidence that he was a victim of modern slavery.
The Home Office has framed the new policy as a clear warning to people-smuggling gangs and those contemplating illegal entry. “This is a clear message to people-smuggling gangs that illegal entry into the UK will not be tolerated,” a spokesperson told BBC. “We will continue to detain and remove those who arrive by small boat. And we will work with France to operate a legal route for an equal number of eligible migrants to come to the UK subject to security checks.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling illegal Channel crossings a top priority, vowing to succeed where previous administrations have struggled. The government’s strategy is twofold: stem the flow of boats and dismantle the criminal smuggling networks that, as the Home Office puts it, “profit from human misery.” The images of thousands of migrants arriving each year have become a political flashpoint, fueling debates about border security, humanitarian obligations, and the costs of housing asylum seekers—who are often placed in hotels while their claims are processed, at significant expense to taxpayers.
Despite the government’s hopes, critics from across the political spectrum have questioned the efficacy and morality of the “one in, one out” scheme. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp, for instance, argued that the agreement with France would be less effective than the Rwanda plan floated by the previous Conservative government, stating bluntly that it would offer “no deterrent effect whatsoever.” He also described the number of returns so far as “pathetic.”
Meanwhile, rights groups such as Asylum Matters have taken issue with the fundamental premise of the policy. “The only way to stop people from making dangerous journeys is to give them real safe routes to seek sanctuary,” the charity argued, suggesting that the government’s current approach addresses only the symptoms rather than the root causes of irregular migration.
There is also skepticism about the scale of the program. The pilot phase envisions an initial cap of 50 returns per week, but with more than 1,000 migrants arriving by small boat on a single day—September 19, 2025, according to BBC—the numbers involved in the scheme are a drop in the ocean. In total, 32,188 people have arrived in Britain by small boat so far this year, a slight decrease compared to 2022, but still a staggering figure. French authorities, for their part, report having prevented over 17,600 attempted crossings in 2025, though their ability to intervene is limited by maritime law once boats are at sea unless there is an immediate threat to life.
The international dimension of the crisis was thrown into sharp relief when former U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in, urging Prime Minister Starmer to “call out the military” to stop the boats and warning that illegal migration can “destroy” countries. Labour minister Peter Kyle did not rule out the possibility of involving the Royal Navy but emphasized that such a move would be a last resort. Admiral Lord West, a former first sea lord, dismissed the suggestion, arguing that military intervention would “make no difference at all” given the practical and legal constraints on returning boats to France.
As the pilot agreement unfolds, the government’s challenge is to demonstrate that the scheme can deliver real results—not just symbolic gestures. The Home Office has declined to confirm how many migrants will ultimately be involved, but officials expect the numbers to grow as the program matures. For now, the arrival of the first family is being heralded by ministers as a “critical first step.”
Yet, as both supporters and critics acknowledge, the “one in, one out” deal is unlikely to be a silver bullet. The sheer scale of the Channel crossings, the resourcefulness of smuggling networks, and the desperation of those fleeing conflict and hardship mean that the search for effective and humane solutions will continue. The pilot scheme may offer a glimmer of hope for some, but for many others, the perilous journey across the Channel remains a last resort.
In the end, the arrival of one family under a new policy is both a milestone and a reminder: migration is a deeply human story, shaped by policy but driven by hope, necessity, and the enduring quest for safety.