Vietnamese migrants to be returned under new deal with UK
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Vietnamese migrants with no right to be in the UK will be returned to their home country under a new agreement.
The pilot scheme, announced on Wednesday, will use biometric data sharing and streamlined documentation to fast-track Vietnamese migrants out of the UK if they came illegally.
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More Vietnamese people attempted to cross the Channel in small boats in the first half of 2024 than any other nationality, according to Home Office figures.
Statistics from April 2024 showed Vietnamese nationals made up 20% of all small boat arrivals – a 10-fold increase compared with the same period the previous year.
Overall in 2024, approximately 3,798 Vietnamese nationals were detected entering the UK illegally – making up 9% of the 43,630 total detected illegal entries for that year.
Immigration minister Mike Tapp told Sky News the government had already deported 35,000 people in its first year in office, including an increase of 14% on foreign national offenders.
Asked how many people from Vietnam were in the UK, Mr Tapp said: “There are a significant number.
“I can’t give you the exact figure that comes over from Vietnam, but it goes up and down.
“So sometimes you’ll see that, spiking. And then it depends where the gangs are at with their operations.”
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Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the scheme on X, saying: “I’ve just secured a landmark agreement with Vietnam to ramp up the returns process of illegal migrants.
“I mean it when I say: if you come here illegally, you will be swiftly returned.”
It comes as the government continues to struggle with the number of small boat Channel crossings.
Figures released last week showed more migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year than in the whole of 2024.
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Home Office sources confirmed that more than 36,816 people – the total for 2024 – have now crossed the Channel so far in 2025.
Earlier this year, the UK struck a “one in, one out” treaty which means the UK can send people back to France if they have entered the country illegally.
In exchange, the UK will allow asylum seekers to enter through a safe and legal route – as long as they have not previously tried to enter illegally.
Government setback
However, the scheme suffered an early setback after a migrant who was deported back to France under the flagship scheme returned to the UK on a small boat.
The Iranian national was initially detained when he entered the UK on a small boat on 6 August. He was removed under the government’s deal with France on 19 September, and he returned on 18 October.
On Wednesday morning, border security minister Alex Norris said the man was still in the country.
He told Sky News: “He’s come through, he was detected immediately at the front door, he was detained, and he will be removed from this country.”
Asked when the man would be removed, the minister said: “I wouldn’t want to give a specific timeline, but we are removing him as soon as possible.”
