Rwanda to receive UK asylum seekers in the next 10 to 12 weeks

Last year, 29,437 asylum seekers made the crossing with one in five of them from Afghanistan, according to the Refugee Council.

As per the recent policy, individuals who are suspected of “entering the UK illegally” after January 1, 2022, may be sent to Rwanda for a five-year agreement to process their claims.

If successful, they could be granted refugee status and allowed to stay. If not, they could apply to settle in Rwanda on other grounds, or seek asylum in another “safe third country”.

No asylum seeker would be able to apply to return to the UK.

Plans to send these asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda have, however, drawn harsh criticism from UK lawmakers. Nevertheless, the upper house of parliament eventually passed the bill that authorizes the asylum seekers’ transfer to Rwanda, after demanding a number of amendments.

The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, announced that flights to take the assylum seekers to Rwanda would begin operating in 10 to 12 weeks prior to the bill’s passage.

In a statement on Tuesday, he called the passing of the Rwanda bill “not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration”.

He said: “We introduced the Rwanda bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.

“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.

Deporting the first 300 asylum seekers is expected to cost the UK about 540 million pounds ($665 million), according to estimates from the National Audit Office, a watchdog on public spending.

The UK would provide a one-time payment of £120 million to support Rwanda’s economy if more than 300 people were sent there, with additional payments of £20,000 for each person relocated.

Furthermore, each person sent there will receive up to £150,000 in compensation, according to the NAO report.

By the end of 2023, the UK government had given Rwanda £240 million.

Nonetheless, the National Audit Office estimates that the entire payout will be at least £370 million spread over five years.

Other European countries, including Austria and Germany, are also looking at agreements to process asylum seekers in third countries.