New Commons Library research briefing on UK migrant returns agreements with other countries

House of Commons
Library

Unauthorised migration: UK returns agreements with other countries

Research Briefing
5 December 2024
Number 10157

By CJ McKinney,
Melanie Gower

Summary

The UK has agreements with some countries for the return of people lacking legal residence. These agreements take various forms and are not usually published. This briefing lists known agreements and links to the text where available. There are known to be agreements with 24 countries, shown below.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

1 Background

1.1 What are returns agreements?

Foreign nationals in the UK without permission are liable to removal by law. [1] In practice, the government's ability to remove a given person against their will depends on there being a country willing to accept them. [2] Removals are a bilateral rather than a unilateral process.

Countries often make agreements with one another about the circumstances in which they will accept migrants back from the other country. These are known as returns agreements.

Such agreements might cover the types of people the recipient country will accept back, the process for confirming their identity and issuing a travel document, and deadlines for responding to return requests.

The government distinguishes between different types of returns agreements, noting that they include:

• Readmission treaties: reciprocal agreements that are legally binding under international law. An example is the UK-Georgia Agreement on the Readmission of Persons Residing without Authorisation.

• Memorandums of understanding: commitments between countries that are formalised but not legally binding. [3] Most known UK returns agreements take this form.

• "Informal operational arrangements": administrative procedures that might be agreed at official level (that is, between civil servants) rather than at political level (by ministers). An example is the arrangements with Ireland on return of asylum seekers which became politically contentious in 2024. [4]

Returns provisions can also be included in a more wide-ranging cooperation deal that touches on many different subjects, rather than a standalone agreement. [5]

People not from the country of return

Returns agreements may cover "third country nationals". These are people who are not citizens of the country of return but whom that country will nevertheless agree to readmit in certain circumstances.

For example, the UK's readmission treaties with Georgia and Serbia do not only provide for the return of Georgian/Serbian citizens. They also apply to non-nationals who had visas or residence permits in those countries or travelled directly from them when illegally entering the UK.

The Conservative government's UK-Rwanda deal, unusually, did not apply to Rwandan citizens and did apply to third country nationals with no pre-existing connection to Rwanda. [6] It therefore had no "return" element as such.

Negotiating returns agreements

Government ministers often emphasise that formal agreements are not usually necessary for returns of a country's own citizens to happen. An agreement might be put in place if there are difficulties in securing the practical cooperation of officials in the other country or if the other country requests one. [7]

Ministers have noted that there can be trade-offs in seeking to strike a formal deal. The other country might ask for something in return (other than improved ability to remove British citizens from its territory), such as a loosening of UK visa requirements for its citizens. [8]

Nevertheless, the Labour and Conservative general election manifestos promised to negotiate additional returns agreements to send people back to their home country. [9] Both parties have also expressed interest in an agreement with the European Union on return of third country national asylum seekers who have passed through on the way to the UK. [10]

1.2 Do returns agreements work?

The mere existence of a returns agreement does not necessarily mean more returns to that country. Such agreements may not be honoured on the ground or prove ineffective in achieving their aims over time.

For example, the European Union's financial watchdog noted in a 2019 report "the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries stipulates that these countries must readmit any of their nationals who are illegally present on the territory of an EU Member State without further formalities. In practice, this legal provision is not respected". [11]

One study in 2021 concluded that the EU's readmission agreements made only a temporary impact, if any. Returns to African countries generally fell irrespective of whether there was an agreement in place or not. [12]

On the other hand, the UK has multiple agreements with Albania, which the government credits with increasing returns to that country. [13] Albanian citizens account for one third of all enforced removals from the UK since the start of 2021. [14]

1.3 Are returns agreements published?

Returns agreements that take the form of a treaty would be published and laid before Parliament. [15] Other types of agreement are not usually published. The government is not legally required to publish a memorandum of understanding or operational protocol. Ministers say the agreements can be sensitive and countries might pull out if details were made public. [16]

This means that there is no publicly available and up-to-date consolidated list of which countries the UK has returns agreements with and what those agreements say. A list of countries with which returns agreements are thought to be in force is in section 2.1 below.

The fact that an agreement was made in the past does not necessarily mean that it remains relevant indefinitely. Agreements may be formally terminated, fail to be implemented, or fall into disuse. A list of countries with which returns agreements were announced or confirmed at one time, but no longer appear to be in use, is in section 2.2 below.

2 Lists of known returns agreements

2.1 Which countries does the UK currently have agreements with?

• Albania: Readmission treaty, 2021. Covers third country nationals. It is supported by various other unpublished agreements, such as a memorandum of understanding on "exchange of information for migration-related purposes". [17]

The UK had previously taken part in an EU-Albania readmission agreement (2005) and before that in a bilateral UK-Albania treaty (2003).

• Algeria: Readmission treaty, 2006.

• Angola: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2007. [18]

• Azerbaijan: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, as of 2021. [19]

• Bangladesh: Unpublished standard operating procedure, 2024. [20]

• China: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2004. [21]

• Democratic Republic of Congo: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2009. [22]

• Djibouti: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2008. [23]

• Georgia: Readmission treaty, 2023. Covers third country nationals. The UK had previously taken part in an EU-Georgia agreement (2011).

• Guinea: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, as of 2021. [24]

• India: Memorandum of understanding, 2021.

• Iraq: Unpublished joint statement, 2024. [25] It is unclear whether this replaces or builds upon a previous memorandum of understanding agreed in 2005. [26]

• Ireland: Unpublished operational arrangements covering third country asylum seekers, 2020. [27] There are likely to be other agreements, formal and informal, as part of extensive UK-Ireland cooperation on the Common Travel Area. [28]

• Kuwait: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2012. [29]

• Moldova: Readmission treaty, 2024. [30] Not yet published at time of writing. The UK had previously taken part in an EU-Moldova readmission agreement (2007).

• Nigeria: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2022. [31] It is unclear whether this replaces or builds upon a previous memorandum of understanding agreed in 2005. [32]

• Pakistan: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2022. [33] The Home Office has declined requests for a copy both in Parliament and under the Freedom of Information Act. [34]

The UK had previously taken part in an EU-Pakistan agreement (2011) and had signed a bilaterial memorandum of understanding with Pakistan before, in the 2000s. [35]

• Serbia: Readmission treaty, 2022. Covers third country nationals. The UK had previously taken part in an EU-Serbia agreement (2007).

• Sierra Leone: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2012. [36]

• Somalia: Unpublished agreement, as of 2021. [37] It is unclear whether this is the 2007 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, which declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991, or a different agreement with the government of Somalia itself. [38]

• South Korea: Readmission treaty, 2011.

• South Sudan: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2013. [39]

• Switzerland: Readmission treaty, 2005. Covers third country nationals.

• Vietnam: Unpublished memorandum of understanding, 2004. Supplemented by further agreements in 2009 and 2024. [40]

2.2 Which countries did the UK once have agreements with?

This section lists countries and territories with which the UK Government confirmed a returns agreement at one time but where the agreement appears no longer to be in place or honoured. It is not a list of countries to which returns are impossible in all cases: successive governments have stressed that while agreements can facilitate returns, they are not essential. [41]

• Afghanistan: Memorandum of understanding, 2002. Inoperable in practice since a change of regime in 2021. [42]

• Belgium: Unpublished operational arrangements similar to the 'Gentleman's Agreement' with France (see below). [43]

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: EU readmission agreement, 2007.

• Bulgaria: Readmission treaty (PDF), 2003.

• Burundi: the government stated in 2014 that a bilateral memorandum of understanding was in place but did not list Burundi in a 2021 reply. [44]

• European Union: Dublin III regulation, 2013. This addresses which country within the EU is responsible for deciding a person's asylum claim, including the possibility for people to be sent back to their first country of entry. [45]

• Hong Kong: EU readmission agreement, 2004.

• France: Operational arrangements (PDF), 1995. Known as the 'Gentleman's Agreement', it applied to third country nationals refused admission at the Channel ports. From 1997, it applied only to people who did not claim asylum. [46]

• Iran: Unpublished memorandum of understanding. Inoperable as of 2007. [47]

• Macao: EU readmission agreement, 2004.

• Malaysia: the government stated in 2014 that a bilateral memorandum of understanding was in place but did not list Malaysia in a 2021 reply. [48]

• Montenegro: EU readmission agreement, 2007.

• North Macedonia: EU readmission agreement, 2007.

• Romania: Readmission treaty (PDF), 2003.

• Russia: EU readmission agreement, 2007.

• Rwanda: the government stated in 2014 that a bilateral memorandum of understanding was in place but did not list Rwanda in a 2021 reply. [49]

• Sri Lanka: EU readmission agreement, 2005.

• Turkey: EU readmission agreement, 2014.

• United Arab Emirates (Dubai): the government stated in 2007 that a bilateral memorandum of understanding was in place but has not mentioned it in subsequent replies. [50]

• Ukraine: EU readmission agreement, 2007.

2.3 How has the number of agreements in place changed over time?

The lists above draw from responses to written parliamentary questions in 2021 and 2014. These named the countries with which the UK had formal agreements (readmission treaties and memorandums of understanding), excluding informal arrangements:

• In 2014 there were 32 countries and territories listed, of which 14 were EU agreements in which the UK took part. [51]

• In 2021 there were 17 countries listed, reflecting the UK's departure from the EU and its readmission agreements. [52]

Of the 14 EU readmission agreements, the UK is known to have replaced five with bilaterial agreements. These are Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Pakistan and Serbia (as highlighted in section 2.1 above). The UK's participation in the other nine has lapsed.

__________________________

Disclaimer

The Commons Library does not intend the information in our research publications and briefings to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You should not rely upon it as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein. You should consult a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information. Read our briefing 'Legal help: where to go and how to pay' for further information about sources of legal advice and help. This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence.

Sources and subscriptions for MPs and staff

We try to use sources in our research that everyone can access, but sometimes only information that exists behind a paywall or via a subscription is available. We provide access to many online subscriptions to MPs and parliamentary staff, please contact hoclibraryonline@parliament.uk or visit commonslibrary.parliament.uk/resources for more information.

Feedback

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in these publicly available briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated to reflect subsequent changes.

If you have any comments on our briefings please email papers@parliament.uk. Please note that authors are not always able to engage in discussions with members of the public who express opinions about the content of our research, although we will carefully consider and correct any factual errors.

The House of Commons Library is a research and information service based in the UK Parliament. Our impartial analysis, statistical research and resources help MPs and their staff scrutinise legislation, develop policy, and support constituents.

Our published material is available to everyone on commonslibrary.parliament.uk.

Get our latest research delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe at commonslibrary.parliament.uk/subscribe or scan the code below:

You can read our feedback and complaints policy and our editorial policy at commonslibrary.parliament.uk. If you have general questions about the work of the House of Commons email hcenquiries@parliament.uk.

[52] PQ HL1460 [on Undocumented Migrants: Deportation], answered on 12 July 2021