Migrants who have been refused asylum are set to be offered thousands of pounds to move to Rwanda under a new “voluntary” scheme.
The UK struck a deal with Kigali earlier this year which is separate to the stalled deportation plan.
The new agreement is aimed at removing tens of thousands of migrants who have no right to stay in Britain but cannot return to their home country.
The scheme is an extension of existing Home Office voluntary returns, under which migrants are offered financial assistance worth up to £3,000 to leave the UK for their country of origin.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “In the last year, 19,000 people were removed voluntarily from the UK and this is an important part of our efforts to tackle illegal migration.
“We are exploring voluntary relocations for those who have no right to be here, to Rwanda, who stand ready to accept people who wish to rebuild their lives and cannot stay in the UK.
“This is in addition to our Safety of Rwanda Bill and Treaty which, when passed, will ensure people who come to the UK illegally are removed to Rwanda.”
It is understood the Government believes the voluntary scheme can be brought into effect quickly because it will draw on existing structures outlined by the agreement already in place with Rwanda and existing voluntary returns processes.
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But Labour accused ministers of “resorting to paying people” to go Rwanda upon realising their deportation scheme “has no chance of succeeding.”
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock MP said: “We know from the treaty that capacity in Rwanda is very limited, so ministers should now explain what this new idea means for the scheme as it was originally conceived, and they should also make clear how many people they expect to send on this basis, and what the cost will be.
“There have been so many confused briefings around the Rwanda policy that the public will be forgiven for treating this latest wheeze with a degree of scepticism.
“It seems that the Home Secretary is trying to find a way out of this hare-brained scheme that he himself has described as ‘bat****’.”
