New immigration agreement, asylum seekers from France will be allowed to go to Britain for 3 months

The UK and France have reached a new immigration agreement, which envisions immigrants in France can apply for visas to legally enter Britain as their asylum demand is considered.

According to documents published by the British Interior Ministry, applicants meeting the criteria will receive access permits for a maximum period of three months after they have submitted their application online. During this time, they will be banned from work, study and will not have access to public funds.

However, many questions about the scheme still remain unanswered, including where migrants will be sheltered during the temporary stay and what will happen if their applications are later rejected. There are concerns that they may end up in state-funded hotels at high cost to British taxpayers.

“scheme inside, one outside”

The agreement functions on the “principle within, an outside of”, which means that the number of migrants accepted by France will be limited to the same number as those who will be expelled from Britain and will return to France. However, the Interior Ministry has not yet set a precise numeric limit for this exchange.

A preliminary report suggests that only about 50 immigrants per week could return to France, which means there will be about 2,350 total before the deal expires in June of next year. This figure is much lower compared to over 25,000 migrants who have arrived in Britain with gomons since the beginning of this year -- an increase of 49% compared to the same period last year.

Criticals and Reactions

Shadow Secretary for Internal Affairs by Conservators Chris Philip criticised the agreement, calling the “an open door” for illegal immigration. He voiced concern that it is not clear how cases of asylum applications will be managed, or whether Britain will be able to expel rejected immigrants in France because of legal challenges.

On the other hand, organisations protecting immigrant rights have indicated that the agreement is non-human and unacceptable. Steve Valdez-Symonds from Amnesty International UK stated that this scheme treats refugees as <x0paco moving” and warned legal challenges against it.

At that, Interior Secretary Yvette Cooper, in an interview for BBC Radio 4, said the government would not publish accurate figures of those returning to France, with the argument that this could help human smuggling criminal groups. However, it promised continued transparency for the number of banned and restored immigrants.

Cooper stressed that immigrants who come illegally with gomones can be selected for this new scheme and be placed in detention centres, while their asylum demand is considered.

Current agreement between Britain and France is valid by the end of June 2026, with the possibility of renovation. /Periscopi/