Failed asylum seekers could be deported to North Macedonia under a plan to reduce Channel crossings.
The Balkan country has entered formal talks with the UK about hosting a “return hub” for rejected asylum seekers under a scheme to deter small-boat crossings.
It is one of two Balkan states said to be interested in the scheme, with the UK expected to pay them for each migrant they accept.
Kosovo was disclosed as the other nation earlier this year. It has agreed to take illegal migrants from the US, although it has said it had “limited capacity”.
Migrants would be deported and offered the chance to claim asylum in North Macedonia, but would not be detained or face restrictions on their movement, making them free to leave the country if they wished.
They would be encouraged to claim asylum or to get work visas in sectors where there are major shortages, such as construction.
Albania has rejected a similar proposal with the UK, even though it has struck a deal with Italy to house its migrants while their asylum claims are processed. If successful, they are returned to Italy. Those rejected face deportation.
Send a signal to other migrants
Bosnia and Herzegovina rejected an approach from Britain because it said accepting failed asylum seekers was “incompatible” with its national interests.
The potential agreements with North Macedonia and Kosovo are part of a series of measures designed to deter migrants, particularly from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan, where it is difficult to return them.
If they can be removed to the “return hubs” in third countries in the Balkans, it would send a signal to other migrants from such countries that they could still be deported from the UK, even if it was not feasible to return them to their home nations.
Germany and Denmark are among other European countries exploring the idea of setting up return hubs, and the UN’s refugee agency has said it would endorse them as long as they complied with human rights standards.
Any deals landed by Sir Keir Starmer would likely be tied to wider agreements on investment and security support to combat the threats from Russian infiltration and cyberwarfare.
Labour is keen to distance the proposals from the Tories’ Rwanda scheme, which was different in that it was designed for migrants deported before any asylum claims were heard.
The Home Office believes the current plan would be less open to legal challenge as the migrants would have had their asylum claims fairly heard and rejected in the UK, giving them no legal right to remain in Britain.
It is one of a number of measures to tackle the small-boats crisis, which include the one in, one out deal with France to take back Channel migrants in return for equal numbers of legitimate asylum seekers being transported from France to the UK.
More than 39,000 migrants have so far crossed the Channel this year, up 6,000 on last year at the same point but 3,000 less than the record year in 2022.
