The U.K. government has struggled to combat irregular small boat crossings across the English Channel. Between 2018 and 2025, around 193,000 people were detected crossing, with the yearly peak hitting 46,000 in 2022.
Asked for his advice on stopping migration, Orbán told the TV channel his secret was “determination.”
“So if you decide that you stop them, stop them. So sometimes it’s not the nicest job, but if you decide that this is our borderline and nobody can cross it without our permission, you have to keep the line. You have to do so.”
Last year, around 41,000 people entered the U.K. on small boats, with more than 3,000 people crossing the channel so far in 2026. Around 95 percent of people who arrive go on to claim asylum and are often housed in hotels, which has caused widespread controversy.
“In Hungary, it’s very simple,” Orbán said. “If somebody is crossing the borderline without getting the permission prior of that from the authorities, it’s a crime and we treat them as crime makers.”
London struck a “one in, one out” agreement with Paris last July, which meant undocumented migrants arriving on small boats could be removed in exchange for asylum seekers who had a U.K. connection. However, this plan faced criticism after a man deported under the scheme returned to Britain, as well as for the treatment of those who returned to France.
Pushed on whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Tory predecessor Rishi Sunak were too weak in their approach to migration, Orbán said: “I’m not as brave to criticize any leader of the U.K.”