The first asylum seekers could be flown from the UK to Rwanda by the summer, according to the Home Secretary, who stated that “there is every possibility that we can move quickly.”
Suella Braverman, speaking in the Rwandan capital Kigali on her first official visit as Home Secretary, also warned that the government could still leave the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) if the plan to address the small boat crisis proved impractical.
The Home Secretary met Rwandan President Paul Kagame, after touring a new housing development that will serve as long-term housing for asylum seekers relocated to the Central African country.
The Rwandan government is currently constructing up to 5,000 homes on a hilltop overlooking the capital, known as the Riverside Estate.
Over time, more than 15,000 people will live on the estate, in homes with gardens, off-street parking, and solar panels.
The cheapest houses are priced at £14,000 and will be available to both asylum seekers and Rwandans.
According to Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo, those arriving from the United Kingdom will be housed in hostels and hotels for the first 3-6 months while their asylum claims are processed. They would then be transferred to long-term housing.
Makolo said: “We have always been prepared to receive thousands of migrants over the course of this initiative. We’ve always been ready for that.”
“We are going to be ready to absorb the thousands that will come from the UK along the life of this partnership.”
Because of multiple legal challenges, no asylum seeker flights have left the UK for Rwanda since the partnership was announced by former Home Secretary Priti Patel in April last year.