London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Why are asylum seekers being sent to Rwanda and how many could go?

Why are asylum seekers being sent to Rwanda and how many could go?

Some asylum seekers who arrive in the UK will be sent to Rwanda, under government plans.

It says the scheme - which faces legal challenges - will discourage others from crossing the English Channel.


What is the Rwanda asylum plan?


The five-year trial would see some refugees who arrive in the UK sent to Rwanda, to claim asylum there.

The first are due to be sent on on Tuesday 14 June.

It is thought to be aimed mostly at single, young migrants who arrive through "illegal, dangerous or unnecessary methods", such as on small boats or hidden in lorries.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Rwanda would take responsibility for those sent there, with equal access to employment and services.


How many people could be sent to Rwanda?


"Anyone entering the UK illegally" since 1 January could be sent to Rwanda, with no limit on numbers, the prime minister said.

But a Home Office source told the BBC that, of the original 37 people due to be sent on Tuesday, legal challenges about modern slavery and human rights had drastically reduced that number.

According to the charity Care4Calais, 11 people are now due to fly.


What is the legal action?


Charities and lawyers representing asylum seekers launched legal action against the UK Home Office.

Two cases were being heard on Monday:

*  The Court of Appeal rejected a bid to halt the flight, by the Public and Commercial Services Union and the charities Care4Calais and Detention Action

*  In the High Court, the charity Asylum Aid has applied for an injunction against the flight

Asylum Aid says the procedure to deport asylum seekers is unfair because it does not allow enough time to access legal aid and appeal for the right to stay in the UK.

Other human rights groups have questioned whether Rwanda is safe for asylum seekers and say the policy breaks the European Convention on Human Rights.

The prime minister said the government had anticipated "very active lawyers" would challenge the policy.

He said activists want a "completely open-doors approach to immigration" and it was important to "stop criminal gangs" trafficking people in dangerous boats.


What is life like in Rwanda?


Rwanda has adapted basic hostels near the capital Kigali to house migrants from the UK.

The country is already home to around 150,000 refugees from neighbouring Burundi and DR Congo.

It also hosts migrants who tried to cross the Mediterranean to Europe via Libya.

Some refugees work as farm labourers and domestic servants. Most are unemployed, relying on state benefits of about £35 a month.

Rwanda's government says the country has undergone a development "miracle" since 1994, when a genocidal war killed 800,000 people.

National income has risen tenfold since then. Life expectancy has increased sharply since the 1990s and is now 69.

However, about 70% of the country's 13 million people are subsistence farmers, meaning they eat, rather than sell, what they grow.


How much will it cost?


The government says the UK asylum system currently costs £1.5bn a year, with more than £4.7m a day spent on hotels to accommodate homeless migrants.

It is investing £120m into the "economic development and growth of Rwanda" as part of its plans.

However, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has argued that the total cost will be "substantially higher" than this.

After the scheme was announced, Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove said the £120m "payment upfront" would be followed by further contributions to Rwanda as it handles asylum cases.

He said the cost would be "similar to the amount of money we are spending on this currently" and that "longer term, by getting this under control, it should help us to save money".

Comparisons have been made to Australia's offshore processing system, which was estimated to cost $957m (£546m) in 2021-22.

The cost of removing people from the UK by charter flight was more than £13,000 per person in 2020.


Is the scheme stopping people from crossing?


The Rwanda policy was first announced by the UK government on 14 April.

Between 18 April and 5 June, 3,599 asylum seekers are known to have arrived in small boats, according to figures published by the Ministry of Defence.

Although this is less than the 4,554 people who arrived in April and June of last year, the total is likely to increase when figures for the same period this year become available.

In the whole of 2021, 28,526 people are known to have crossed in small boats - up from 8,404 in 2020. The total figure this year is set to be much higher than last year, according to Border Force union officials.


In 2021, 75% of arrivals were men aged 18 to 39. About 5% were men aged over 40, 7% were women over 18, and 12% were children under 18 (of whom three-quarters were male).

Previously, Iranians made up the vast majority of arrivals - 80% in 2018, and 66% in 2019.

Recently, there has been a greater mix of nationalities making the crossing. Iranians made up 30% of small boat arrivals last year, while 21% were Iraqis, 11% Eritreans and 9% Syrians, says the Home Office.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×