First Failed Asylum Seeker Goes To Rwanda under Voluntary Scheme
First Failed Asylum Seeker Goes To Rwanda under Voluntary Scheme

First Failed Asylum Seeker Goes To Rwanda under Voluntary Scheme

First Failed Asylum Seeker Goes To Rwanda under Voluntary Scheme

The UK has returned a first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary removals program, it is understood.

Under the scheme, announced last month, migrants whose claims are rejected are offered up to £3,000 to move to the East African country.

It is separate to the forced returns scheme the government announced two years ago.

That scheme, which has been beset by delays, is due to begin by mid-July.

The SUN, which first reported the story, said the unnamed man was flown out of the UK on Monday on a commercial flight.

The Rwandan government confirmed that a failed asylum seeker arrived on Tuesday on a flight from London.

Labour said the move showed ministers were desperate to get a flight off to Rwanda before Thursday’s local elections in England.

Read Also:

Ghana Court Rejects Suit Seeking To Compel President to Sign Anti-Gay Bill

The home office says payments under the current scheme can pay for temporary accommodation in the destination country, or education costs, or the cost of setting up a business.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch suggested the fact someone had volunteered to go to Rwanda undermined the argument that it was not a safe country.

Jacqueline McKenzie, partner and head of immigration at Leigh Day solicitors, said she was aware from contacts that many people had recently been offered this package to go to Rwanda, including some very vulnerable individuals.

I am surprised, given the amount of calls that have been made, that more people haven’t gone, if it’s a good idea, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper called news of the voluntary return a pre-election gimmick, adding taxpayers were forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane.

The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go, she added.

Leave a Reply