The countries previously confirmed that they aim to close the first deals to set up the off-shore centers in 2026, with plans to make them operational as of next year.
The deportation hub in Rwanda would function as a pilot project and deals with other countries and involving other EU countries are likely to follow.
A recent reform of EU rules made it possible for EU members to cut deals to set up such deportation hubs with other countries on the condition that they meet international human rights standards.
Specifics of the scheme, including the nationalities of the people that would be moved to the hubs, their living conditions there and oversight of the deal, all depend on the agreement countries cut.
But human rights groups have warned that the hubs risk opening the door to human rights abuses, far removed from EU oversight or recourse.
Plans by the Conservative British government plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda were slapped down by the U.K. Supreme Court in 2023, which ruled the scheme unlawful. After coming into power in 2024, the Labour government shelved the plans, with then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling the Rwanda plan “dead and buried.”
The U.K. had aimed to move people to Rwanda to process their applications remotely, whereas the incoming deal of the EU countries would target people who have been ordered to leave the bloc’s territory.
Seb Starcevic contributed to this report.