UK's Rwanda Deportation Scheme May Cost London $2.3Mln Per Migrant - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom's plan to relocate illegal migrants to Rwanda may cost its taxpayers 1.8 million pounds ($2.3 million) per deportation, or over 500 million pounds by 2030, British media estimated using new fresh investigation by the UK National Audit Office (NAO) into the true costs of the government's controversial scheme.

The Home Office has not so far revealed the total amount already spent on the deportation scheme apart from the 290 million pounds it disclosed last year. NAO's investigation was requested by members of parliament in December 2023 as they expressed their concern over a lack of transparency on the government's end.

"In implementing the partnership, the Home Office would make two types of direct payments to the Government of Rwanda. These are: payments to the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund [ETIF] ... and payments to cover asylum processing and operational costs for individuals relocated to Rwanda," NAO said in its findings.

The Home Office has promised the Rwandan government 370 million pounds in ETIF payments — of which it has already paid 220 million pounds and committed to pay another 50 million pounds each in April 2024, 2025 and 2026 — as well as further payments depending on the number of people relocated: 120 million once 300 people have been relocated and then 20,000 pounds per each relocated person.

This is in addition to 151,000 pounds needed per each relocated person to cover their asylum processing and operational costs, NAO said. Separately, the Home Office needs funds for "setting up and operating the partnership," including staff costs, legal costs, and migrant travel costs.

"As at February 2024, the Home Office had incurred costs of £20 million, which it expects to rise to £28 million by the end of 2023-24. The Home Office estimates that it will also incur further costs of approximately £1 million per year in staff costs and £11,000 per individual for flight costs. It will also incur costs to escort individuals to Rwanda. These include training costs of £12.6 million in 2024-25 and £1 million per year thereafter in fixed costs, plus further escorting costs which are dependent on the number of flights required," NAO said in its findings.

The United Kingdom and Rwanda signed a migration agreement in 2022, under which people identified by the UK government as undocumented migrants or asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda for processing, asylum and resettlement.

The plan has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and some politicians who believe the measure will not help stem the flow of migrants. The first deportation of migrants from the UK to Rwanda was scheduled to take place on June 14, 2022. However, the flight was canceled at the last minute due to the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights.

Last November, the UK Supreme Court declared the government's initial scheme unlawful, saying it could not guarantee the safety of asylum seekers after their deportation to Rwanda. The government responded by signing a new deal with Rwanda which addressed the court's concern about the African country's safety for asylum seekers.