UK considers scheme to offer £3,000 to failed asylum seekers to move to Rwanda

The UK government reportedly has a plan in place to be included into a new agreement with Rwanda, which provides for a payment to failed asylum seekers to return to their home countries.

The UK government’s plan is understood to be a variation of an existing voluntary returns scheme, where asylum seekers, who have been rejected by the United Kingdom, receive cash of up to £3,000 ($3,800) to return to move to Rwanda or their respective home countries. The new scheme will be open to all migrants whose asylum claim has been rejected, thereby targeting all those who cannot return to their countries of origin. This is just another scheme in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ambitious plan to stop irregular migration.

The new voluntary scheme does not replace the plan to deport illegal arrivals to Rwanda, which has been blocked by the UK Supreme Court over concerns about the east African country’s safety. Rishi Sunak has vowed to press ahead with the plan and his government is now trying to satisfy the court’s ruling, which found deporting asylum seekers to Kigali to be illegal under international law, by enacting legislation compelling judges to treat it as a safe third country.

To side step the court’s concerns, the Rishi Sunak’s government introduced a bill which seeks to label Rwanda a safe country. After numerous court cases and international outcry, no deportation flights have taken off under the deal struck in April 2022.