Britain says it’s talking with some countries to set up migrant return hubs

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Britain is talking with several countries to host rejected asylum seekers as they wait to be deported, the U.K. prime minister said Thursday.

Prime Minister Kier Starmer said on a visit to Albania that the “return hub” concept was a “really important innovation” that could more effectively tackle irregular migration. He did not name the countries he was in discussions with or offer more details.

Albania already had a five-year agreement with Italy to potentially shelter up to 36,000 migrants annually while their asylum requests were fast-tracked by Italy. Under the original deal - which differs from what the U.K. is proposing - Italy would take back any migrants whose requests are rejected and attempt to deport them. But the plan has, so far, failed due to repeated challenges in Italian courts.

In April, Italian authorities changed their migrant disembarkation agreement to a variation of the “return hub” model and transferred 40 people to Albania who lacked Italian residency permits and whose asylum requests had been denied. It was the first time a European Union country sent rejected asylum seekers to a non-EU country that was neither their own nor one they had transited through on their journey.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the agreement with Italy was a “one off” and that Tirana had turned down several requests for similar deals with other countries, ruling out the possibility that the U.K. would send rejected asylum-seekers there.

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The Conservative U.K. government that was voted out of power in July had planned a controversial program to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, which they said was a safe third country. Starmer called his predecessor’s program a gimmick and scrapped it on his first days in office.

Under that program, asylum seekers would be flown to Rwanda, which would decide whether to grant asylum there.

Under the “return hubs” Starmer is discussing, migrants whose asylum claims are rejected by the U.K. would be sent to a third country to await deportation. A spokesperson for Starmer said the goal is to prevent failed asylum seekers from using stall tactics, such as starting a family in Britain, to prevent being sent back.

Migration expert Meghan Benton said there’s a lot of confusion between the different programs set out by the U.K. and other European countries. “There’s a lot of legal and moral differences between them,” Benton, who leads Global Programs at the Migration Policy Institute think tank, said. While the Rwanda deal shifted the U.K.'s responsibility for asylum to a third country, Starmer’s proposal involves people who have exhausted their asylum claims, Benton explained.

Several European countries, including the Netherlands and Sweden, are looking to do the same, Benton added. The “return hubs” concept has also been supported by the European Commission as a way to deter irregular migration.

During his visit to Albania Thursday, the British prime minister also said a joint task force has helped significantly reduce the number of Albanian migrants trying to reach the UK. His government is in talks with Western Balkan countries to set up similar task forces, aiming to cut through the tangle of bureaucracy that hinders progress in reducing migrant arrivals, he added.

The number of Albanians crossing the English Channel in unsafe inflatable rafts in search of higher-paying jobs has dropped from 12,000 in 2022 to some 600 in 2024.

“Quite an incredible reduction,” Starmer said at a news conference with Rama. “And I think it’s a signal and an example of what can be done when two countries work together in this way.”

While the number of Albanians arriving on English shores has fallen, the total number of migrants crossing the channel on small boats has increased by more than 30% so far this year, compared to the same period last year, according to an AP analysis of data released by the Home Office.

Top British officials in 2022 called Albanians’ arrivals “an invasion,” sparking a diplomatic spat. Rama had called that a “crazy narrative” and an attempt to cover up for the U.K.’s failed border policies. Albanians cannot seek asylum status in the U.K., which considers Albania to be a safe country.

In the same year, London and Tirana signed an agreement to return Albanians arriving on boats in the U.K. London also has funded projects, especially in northeastern Albania where most of the illegal newcomers were from.

Rama pledged to continue the partnership with Britain on discouraging migrant arrivals from Albania.

Starmer’s visit to Albania is the first by a British prime minister. The two countries also signed a statement of intent for defense industry cooperation to work together on the manufacture of military vehicles in Albania.

The British leader will take part Friday in the European Political Community in Tirana, a forum that gathers European leaders with the aim of boosting security and prosperity across the continent.

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A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the British prime minister called the return hub concept was a “pretty important innovation”. He actually said it was a “really important innovation.”

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AP journalists Brian Melley in London and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this story.

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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration