New legal guide for people in detention facing removal to France

Last week, the Government announced the rollout of a new UK–France Agreement, which allows people seeking asylum to be forcibly removed to France, under a process that risks fast-tracking removals without proper legal safeguards.

We’ve published a new legal guide for people in immigration detention who may be affected by this policy. It explains what the new UK–France deal means, what rights people have, and what steps they can take if they are threatened with removal to France.

Download the guide

Download the template letters in Word format

What’s in the guide?

The guide is written for people currently detained under immigration powers in the UK. It contains:

• Clear explanations of how the UK–France Agreement works
• Step-by-step guidance on how to respond if you receive a Notice of Intent
• Template letters you can use to challenge your detention or removal
• Information on applying for bail
• Contacts for free legal advice and support organisations

Why this is important

The UK–France Agreement sets a strict timeline that can lead to people being removed from the UK within just 42 days of arrival. In that short time, people must understand their rights, access legal advice, and submit evidence to challenge removal — all from inside immigration detention.

Already, people have called our advice line confused and frightened after receiving these notices. Many don’t have legal representation and risk being deported without ever having their case properly heard.

The new policy mirrors the dangers of the now-abandoned Rwanda scheme: fast removals, limited accountability, and severe risks to the well-being of people fleeing persecution.

BID’s response

At BID, we are already supporting people in detention affected by this policy. We’re:

• Providing free legal advice through our detention advice line
• Working with partners to ensure people have legal representation
• Monitoring removals and highlighting rights violations to policymakers and the public
• Creating guides and sharing information 

We have a long history of successfully challenging these types of removal schemes. When the Government tried to send people to Rwanda, we supported clients to secure release on bail and challenged the policy in the courts.

We will do the same again.

How you can help

• Share the guide with anyone working in detention settings or with people at risk of removal.
• Refer people in detention to our advice line (020 7456 9750, Mon–Thu, 10am–12pm).
• Raise awareness on social media or in your networks.
• Donate to support our urgent legal work here.

Together, we can push back against rushed removals and defend the rights of people in detention.

Donate now