Kosovo will be one of the countries asked to take failed asylum seekers from the UK as part of the government’s plan for “return hubs” abroad, according to reports.
The Western Balkan country is on a list of nine countries drawn up by the government of potential places to deport illegal migrants who have exhausted all avenues of appeal for asylum in the UK, according to The Times newspaper.
The report comes after the president of Kosovo revealed to Sky News that they would be “open to discussing it”, but there had been “no formal talks” so far.
The Tories say that return hubs will “not work as a deterrent”, and the “vast majority who illegally cross the [English] Channel have their asylum claims accepted, so would never be removed under the return hubs plan”.
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Sir Keir Starmer revealed last Thursday at a news conference with the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama that the UK “is in talks with a number of countries about return hubs”.
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They would be for processing failed asylum seekers prior to their eventual deportation, wherever that might be.
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Downing Street said they would be for people “who have exhausted all legal routes to remain in the UK”, but who may be employing tactics to delay their removal – like “losing their paperwork”.
The hubs would effectively buy time to return or deport illegal migrants without the government having to house them in Britain in the meantime, such as in the asylum hotels, which the government has promised to close.
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The prime minister described the hubs as a “really important innovation” that complements other measures the government is taking to crack down on criminal smuggling gangs and stop small boat crossings.
He refused to reveal which countries the government is in talks with, but he was left slightly red-faced after the Albanian prime minister publicly slapped down the idea of a UK return hub in his country, saying their agreement with Italy was a “one-off” deal for a key ally.
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But speaking exclusively to Sky’s Tamara Cohen, the president of Kosovo said her government is open to the idea.
Vjosa Osmani said: “There’s been no formal talks with the UK on this issue. It hasn’t been raised so far.
“We would be open to discussing it, however I can’t say more than that because I don’t know the details. I cannot give an answer on a request that hasn’t been made so far.”
Ms Osmani called the UK a “steadfast ally”. UK-supplied technology is being used in Kosovo to stop illicit goods and vulnerable people from reaching British shores.
Nearly 22,000 people used the Western Balkans to enter Europe last year, the Foreign Office said earlier this year.
There are six countries in the Western Balkans which are seen as central to UK efforts to tackling illegal migration. Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro are the others, alongside Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia.
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The Times reports that countries outside Europe are on a shortlist to be approached for talks about return hubs.
The plan is part of the broader government efforts to stop small boat crossings.
Over 12,000 people have crossed the Channel illegally on small boats so far this year, with 2025 on course to a record year for crossings, which will cause a major headache for Labour after being elected on a manifesto promise to “smash the gangs”.
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Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said in response to the report: “The prime minister’s attempt to get Albania to act as a return hub was humiliatingly dismissed by the Albanian prime minister.
“Return hubs will anyway not work as a deterrent because only illegal immigrants whose asylum claims fail get removed. The vast majority who illegally cross the channel have their asylum claims accepted, so would never be removed under the return hubs plan.”
