Asylum seekers jailed for serious crimes in Rwanda will be sent back to UK

Deported asylum seekers jailed for serious crimes in Rwanda will be returned to the UK under the new treaty signed by James Cleverly on Tuesday.

The Home Secretary, who finalised the treaty after arriving in Kigali on an overnight flight, said it would address “all issues” that saw the Rwanda asylum policy declared unlawful by the Supreme Court and could pave the way for deportation flights.

Mr Cleverly said that, because of the safeguards and assurances agreed in the treaty, he could not see “any credible reason” why the courts would now deem Rwanda an unsafe country for asylum seekers.

They includes a legally-binding agreement by Rwanda that no asylum seeker deported from the UK will be removed from the central African state other than back to Britain.

The assurance is designed to counter the central criticism by the Supreme Court that there was a risk that asylum seekers rejected by Rwanda could be returned to their home countries, where they could face torture or persecution.

Rwanda had also agreed that any migrant relocated to the country will be granted either refugee status, if their application is successful, or permanent citizenship if their claim is rejected.

Any asylum seeker convicted of a crime carrying a sentence of more than five years would, however, face revocation of their right to stay in Rwanda and would therefore have to be returned to Britain after serving their sentence.

That would also apply to anyone assessed as a threat to national security in Rwanda.

Home Office sources maintained it was only likely to be a small number of serious offenders and, once returned to the UK, they could still be deported back to their home country provided it was a “safe” destination.

Those from high-risk countries such as Afghanistan, Syria or Yemen would be likely to remain.

Under the agreement, Rwanda will also have a veto on which asylum seekers the UK can deport to it. Article four of the treaty states: “All transfer requests by the UK shall require approval by Rwanda prior to relocation.”

It also emerged on Tuesday that migrants deported to Rwanda will be entitled to legal aid, partly funded by the UK, in order to support their asylum claim and any appeals in the African state. It has not yet been agreed how the costs will be shared between the two countries.

Under the treaty, all migrants deported to Rwanda will also be entitled to five years support in housing, education, language classes, training and integration.

Britain has paid the Rwandan government £140 million since the scheme was first agreed in April last year. Mr Cleverly refused to say how much more could be sent to cover any extra costs, but denied any funds had been requested or offered as part of the treaty negotiations.

As revealed by The Telegraph, Britain will provide experts seconded to support Rwanda in reforming its asylum system after criticism of flaws within it by the Supreme Court.

A special appeals body will be set up to hear individual appeals from migrants whose asylum claims are rejected by the Rwandan asylum system.

The body will be composed of independent judges of a mixture of nationalities with experience on asylum and humanitarian protection expertise. The Home Office said this will “further bolster assurances that relocated individuals will not be returned”.

An independent monitoring committee will also be created to ensure that both countries comply with the terms of the treaty. It will assess conditions faced by migrants on arrival in Rwanda, the processing of their asylum claims and their treatment and support for the five-year period following a decision on their application.

The committee will be made up of eight independent members, but the Home Office has not yet disclosed who they will be.

There will also be a whistleblowing system, allowing migrants to lodge confidential complaints. Developed by the monitoring committee, it will have the power to set out priority areas for monitoring and have unfettered access so migrants can complete assessments and reports.

Mr Cleverly refused to guarantee that deportation flights would take off by the next election, but said he saw no reason why they should not.

Asked to give assurances on flights by next autumn, he said: “We want to see this part of our wider migration plan up and running as quickly as possible. We feel very strongly that this treaty addresses all of the issues of their lordships in the Supreme Court.”

In a joint press conference after signing the treaty, Dr Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan foreign minister, said his country had been “unfairly treated” by the British courts and suggested “internal UK politics” may have played a role in the original asylum policy being blocked.

Later this week, the Government is expected to publish separate legislation that would put in statute that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers.

Under the Rwanda policy, any migrant who arrives in the UK illegally will be eligible for removal to the central African country, where they can then claim asylum. No flights have taken place because of the legal challenges that ended in the Supreme Court judgment declaring the policy unlawful.