Rwanda wants slow start to deportations - as spring deportations look unlikely as bill stalls in Parliament
17 March 2024, 22:29 | Updated: 18 March 2024, 00:12
Rwanda wants a staggered start to deportations under the UK's asylum plan - with flights this spring in jeopardy if the bill continues to stall in Parliament.
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Government officials say that a minimum of six weeks from the bill becoming law will be needed to get flights off the ground.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill is currently stalled as it attempts to pass the House of Lords, who rejected it last month and sent it back to the House of Commons.
Around 150 migrants will be issued with removal notification letters if the Lords passes the bill this week, according to the Times.
Officials in Kigali have insisted on a staged implementation of the Rwanda plan.
A British government source told The Times: "The Rwandans want to pause the scheme for two months to ensure they process the first lot of migrants properly and ensure everything is working smoothly before they take more.
"It’ll take them two months to process and move out of the reception centre but then they will be able to take more and be able to process them quicker.”
Plans are in place to house the first deportees in Hope Hostel in Kigali, which has a capacity of around 200.
The first migrants will come from a pool of 5,641 migrants who arrived in the UK illegally and were identified by the Home Office under its original deportation plans.
The bill is expected to return to the Lords on Monday - after ten amendments are struck down in the Commons.
A Home Office spokesperson said“Our spring timeline has not changed, and once the Safety of Rwanda Bill and Treaty are in place, we will get flights off the ground as soon as possible.
“We have a strong relationship with Rwanda and we continue to work closely with them to operationalise the policy.”
