UK Government to ask Kosovo to take migrants in Rwanda-style plan
Earlier this month, Keir Starmer announced that the Government is beginning talks on a "return hubs" plan to send asylum seekers who have their claims rejected to third countries.
The Prime Minister made the announcement in Albania, which has ruled itself out of any potential deal.
However, The Times reports that Kosovo in the western Balkans, is one of nine countries which has been shortlisted by ministers as potential destinations for return hubs.
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Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, has also signalled that her country would be "open" to talks over the deal.
Other nations to have been shortlisted include Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and several countries outside Europe.
If established, the return hubs will target asylum seekers who have exhausted their avenues for appeal, differing slightly from the former Tory government's Rwanda scheme which proposed asylum seekers have their claims processed in Rwanda before a decision is reached.
As well as acting as a deterrent for small boats crossings, the UK Government said it hopes the move will reduce asylum seekers' ability to find other reasons to prevent deportation, such as starting a family.
While no formal talks have begun with any countries, ministers are understood to want to have made progress by the time the UK hosts a meeting of western Balkans leaders in London in the autumn, where illegal immigration is set to be discussed.
Senior government sources told The Times that Kosovo was a "plausible" country for setting up a return hub because it is one of the main routes used by illegal immigrants on their way towards the European Union.
According to the Foreign Office, nearly 22,000 illegal migrants used the western Balkans route to enter the EU last year, The Times reports.
Kosovo, one of the poorest nations in Europe, has a population of about 1.6 million and is bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the south east, Albania to the southwest and Montenegro to the west.
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Last week, the Kosovian president said that her country would be open to taking part in the Rwanda-style plan.
'There's been no formal talks with the UK on this issue. It hasn't been raised so far,' Osmani said.
'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.'
Several other European countries are exploring similar schemes, including Italy – whose deal with Albania has been caught up in legal action – Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
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Meanwhile Lucy Connolly remains behind bars for a reprehensible, but swiftly deleted tweet. Why? She had no answer👇 — Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) June 3, 2025 In Scotland, the Prime Minister asked the country to 'work together' to confront the threat from Russia. I don't know about you but, right now, I'm less worried about Vladimir Putin than Richard Hermer. Even if the Royal Navy and the Army get the funds they need and deserve, there is no way the current Attorney General will permit our forces to repel or repatriate the thousands of undocumented males who present such a danger to the UK (particularly to women and girls). Unless we leave the ECHR, the hands of our soldiers and sailors are forever tied. Imagine trying to explain that mortifying impotence to those who died protecting this island from actual Nazis. Confronting the enemy within is every bit as important as bolstering our defences to engage the enemy abroad. Make no mistake: uncontrolled migration is by far the biggest threat. Starmer, Hermer and their ilk are not to be trusted with our nation's security; they owe their loyalty to international human rights law. Not to the men, women and children of Britain.
