Vietnamese nationals with no legal right to remain in the UK will be sent back to their home country under a new agreement between London and Hanoi.
The pilot scheme, announced on Wednesday, introduces biometric data sharing and faster documentation procedures designed to expedite the removal of Vietnamese migrants who entered the UK illegally.
Rising numbers across the Channel
Home Office figures show that in the first quarter of 2024, Vietnamese nationals represented the largest group attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats.
By April 2024, they accounted for 20% of all small boat arrivals — a tenfold increase on the same period the previous year. In total, around 3,798 Vietnamese nationals were detected entering the UK illegally that year, making up 9% of the 43,630 total detections.
Immigration Minister Mike Tapp told Sky News the government had deported 35,000 people in its first year in office — including a 14% rise in removals of foreign national offenders.
“There are a significant number [of Vietnamese migrants],” Mr Tapp said. “I can’t give you the exact figure — it fluctuates depending on where the gangs are with their operations.”
Starmer hails ‘landmark agreement’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the deal, describing it as a “landmark agreement” that will “ramp up the returns process of illegal migrants.”
Posting on X, he wrote: “I mean it when I say: if you come here illegally, you will be swiftly returned.”
The announcement comes amid growing pressure on the government to reduce Channel crossings. Recent Home Office data shows more migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025 than in the entirety of 2024, with 36,816 people already recorded this year.
A broader returns policy
The UK earlier this year signed a “one in, one out” arrangement with France. The treaty allows Britain to send illegal entrants back across the Channel, while accepting a limited number of asylum seekers through approved safe and legal routes — provided they have not previously attempted to enter the UK illegally.
However, the scheme has already faced difficulties. In one case, an Iranian national who was deported to France under the policy in September returned to the UK by small boat just a month later.
Border Security Minister Alex Norris confirmed the man had been detained again and would be removed “as soon as possible.”
“He was detected immediately at the front door,” Mr Norris told Sky News. “He was detained, and he will be removed from this country.” Photo by Edwardx, Wikimedia commons.