Rwanda and the United Kingdom on Thursday, April 14 inked a Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which will see migrants and asylum seekers who are illegally in the UK transferred to Rwanda.

The development dominated the headlines both in Rwanda and the UK yesterday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying in a major speech on migration in Kent, Britain that "Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world globally, recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating the migrants.”

A first of its kind in the world, the deal seeks to promote "the dignity and empowerment of migrants”.

The deal has been touted by Rwandan and UK officials as an ‘innovative and bold’ approach in response to what the UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel – who signed the partnership agreement, along with Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Vincent Biruta, in Kigali – called a "broken global immigration system”.

Dr Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (right), and the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary Priti Patel exchange documents after signing the five-year deal which will see migrants and asylum seekers who are illegally in the UK transferred to Rwanda, in Kigali on Thursday, April 14. Photo: Olivier Mugwiza. 

"The global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions,” Patel said. "Existing approaches have failed and there is no single solution to tackle these problems. Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.”

Biruta said Rwanda "welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence. "This is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose.”

We take a look at 12 important things about the deal.

Who is covered in the deal?

The Migration and Economic Development Partnership concerns all the migrants and asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally from January 1, 2022.

What options will they have once they are in Rwanda?

Those who will benefit from the programme will have the option of applying for asylum locally and be facilitated to resettle in Rwanda or to be facilitated to return to their home country, having received support through the programme.

What kind of support will the UK provide?

The UK will fund the programme, initially releasing an upfront investment of £120 million, which will fund invaluable opportunities for the migrants and Rwandans as well. This will include "secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.” The UK will also support in terms of accommodation prior to local integration and resettlement.

What rights will the migrants have while in Rwanda?

According to the deal, they will be entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment, and enrollment in healthcare and social care services.

How will Rwandans benefit?

This is essentially a humanitarian programme designed to help fix one of the world’s biggest crises. There are at least 80 million people displaced around the world and many people have lost their lives trying to cross the British Channel or the Mediterranean Sea.

However, funds that will be disbursed under the Rwanda-UK Migration and Economic Development Partnership will also benefit the people of Rwanda through different socioeconomic programmes. Besides training and education opportunities, there will be investments in tech-enabled jobs and small businesses – all of which will benefit Rwandans and the migrants alike.

The Economic Transformation and Integration Fund will also fund further progress on some of the key initiatives that Rwanda has worked on with the United Kingdom, officials say.

"These include environmental policies – reflecting our national goal to become climate resilient and carbon neutral by 2050 – girls’ education, building back better from Covid-19, bolstering trade, investing in human capital, and supporting effective, accountable institutions,” according to a statement.

Which countries do the migrants in question come from?

So far, most of them are from African countries, Iran, Iraq, Syria, among others.

Will Rwanda do any screening before taking them in?

"Some of the criteria that Rwanda will be considering include one’s criminal record, for example,” Minister Biruta said. He added that migrants in the UK who came from neighbouring countries, including Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania and Uganda, will not qualify for the programme. (This is largely to avoid issues with neighbours).

Can migrants or asylum seekers arriving straight from their countries of origin be eligible for the programme?

The programme is only for asylum-seekers and migrants in the UK, Minister Biruta said. "For other people who want to come to Rwanda to seek asylum or who want to be refugees here, there are existing channels and programmes that can be used.”

Will Ukrainian refugees be part of this programme?

Ukrainian refugees fleeing from the current crisis in their country are eligible to enter the UK through an existing safe and legal route and, therefore, don’t need to use illegal and dangerous routes.

How long will the programme last?

The Memorandum of Understanding signed on Thursday is for an initial five-year period and it includes provisions on how it can be terminated, officials said.

How many migrants/asylum seekers are involved?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested in his speech yesterday their numbers could be in thousands over the years. "The deal we’ve done is uncapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.”

More than 28,000 migrants and asylum seekers arrived illegally in the UK last year alone (more than three times the number in the previous year), most of them via "unwaterworthy boats and refrigerated lorries”, Johnson said. As many as 600 people arrived in the UK illegally through the British Channel on Wednesday this week alone, with Johnson suggesting up to 1000 people could be arriving each day "in just a few days.”

When can we expect the first group to arrive?

This remains unclear but PM Johnson said yesterday he anticipated some legal challenges from "a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers” who are opposed to the programme.

"We are confident that our new migration partnership is fully compliant with our international legal obligations but, nevertheless, we expect this will be challenged in the courts….I know this system will not take effect overnight but I promise that we will do what it takes to deliver this new approach.”