A Kurdish asylum seeker returned to France through the UK’s controversial “one in, one out” migration scheme now faces deportation to Syria after French authorities determined his home country is safe, marking what is believed to be an unprecedented case under the bilateral agreement.
The development raises serious concerns about the safety guarantees underpinning the scheme, which British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hailed as a “groundbreaking” solution when announced in July 2025. The arrangement permits the UK to forcibly return one small-boat asylum seeker to France for every asylum seeker brought legally from northern France to Britain, with both leaders emphasizing France’s status as a safe destination for returnees.
However, the case of a 26-year-old Syrian man challenges these assurances. After arriving in Britain via small boat and being sent back to France last November, he filed an asylum application with French authorities, which has now been denied. The rejection letter explicitly states that Syria poses no threat to his safety, despite Syria’s absence from the recently updated European Union roster of countries considered safe for asylum seeker returns.
The situation echoes concerns that plagued the previous Conservative government’s abandoned Rwanda deportation plan, where the primary criticism centered on the risk of secondary deportation from Rwanda to dangerous countries. French authorities’ determination that Syria is safe for this individual directly contradicts EU guidance on the matter.
According to the refusal letter reviewed by media sources, officials concluded: “The individual β¦ has not presented any relevant arguments that would convince the office that his personal circumstances would pose a serious and individual threat to his life or person should he return to his country.”
The man’s asylum determination process in France consisted of two interviews totaling approximately two hours, with significant emphasis placed on verifying his claimed residence in a specific Syrian village. He explained that he fled Syria last year after village leadership informed him that the YPG, a Kurdish militia operating in the region, had placed his name on a forced conscription roster. “I didn’t want to go to war and kill people,” he stated.
His escape attempt involved multiple family members, including his mother and younger siblings. After using smuggling networks to cross from Syria into Turkey, he was forcibly separated from his relatives by smugglers who placed him in a different transport vehicle. “I do not know what has happened to my family. I have not managed to make contact with them since the smugglers separated us,” he explained.
The psychological toll of his circumstances is evident. “I am so stressed by everything that has happened to me that my hair has started falling out. I’m 26 and I am too young to be losing my hair,” he said. “I don’t know what to do now. I followed the rules under ‘one in, one out’ and claimed asylum in France, but that has been rejected. I am the first asylum seeker returned to France to receive this rejection. If I return to the UK on a small boat, the Home Office will catch me and put me back in detention. If I go back to Syria, the YPG militia will get me. What should I do?”
Official statistics released on 24 April reveal that since the scheme’s September 2025 implementation, 561 individuals have been removed to France after small boat arrivals in the UK, while 551 have been brought legally to Britain. The scheme’s deterrent effectiveness is questionable, as just prior to these figures’ release, 602 asylum seekers arrived on small boats on 18 April alone.
Immigration solicitor Sonia Lenegan raised fundamental concerns about the arrangement’s legal implications: “This case is an example of the real risk involved in returning people to France. Most people who make the journey across the Channel are refugees, which means that the UK accepts that they face danger in their home country. In returning people to France, the UK is putting them at real risk of being returned to the country where they face persecution, in violation of the refugee convention.”
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants recently initiated a letter-writing campaign targeting five airlines participating in removal flights to France under the one in, one out program. The campaign has generated over 6,500 letters urging carriers to cease involvement in what the organization characterizes as “inhumane and racist” deportations.
A Home Office representative defended the policy, stating: “Under our returns agreement with France, we have deported more than 600 illegal migrants from British soil. This contributes to the nearly 60,000 illegal migrants who have been returned since July 2025, up 31% on the 19 months prior.”
Home Office sources clarified that Syrian asylum seekers whose UK claims are rejected would only face return if safe to do so, and that the government maintains communication with Syrian authorities to facilitate such returns. The sources emphasized that no individual would be returned to Syria if facing persecution or serious harm risks upon return.
News Source: The Guardian
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