Keir Starmer's "one-in, one-out" pilot scheme has come into force with the Home Office warning that anyone entering the UK on a small boat "can be detained" and returned back to France.
The UK and France treaty aimed at curbing illegal Channel crossings came into effect on Monday, as part of a broader set of Government measures designed to dismantle the criminal networks behind small boat trafficking.
The Prime Minister said the Government "has been fixing the foundations of the broken asylum system" it inherited.
"Today we send a clear message - if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France," Starmer added.
The Home Office states that the UK-France agreement "means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained immediately on arrival and returned to France by the UK Government".
The department adds that detentions are "expected to begin within days".
"Under the ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, an equal number of migrants will be eligible to come to the UK through a new route if they have not attempted an illegal crossing before," the Home Office stated.
"(That is) subject to full documentation and security and eligibility checks."
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Migrants caught crossing the Channel on small boats can expect to be deported back to France under Labour's new 'one-in, one-out' pilot scheme
Monday's ratification comes after French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit where he made the agreement with Starmer.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signed the final agreement last week with French Interior Minister Bruno Retaillea which was approved by the EU Commission, Germany and other member states.
Cooper said it was the, "first time, under this groundbreaking new treaty" that people who take this "illegal, dangerous" journey to the UK can be returned to France.
"In return, we will take people who apply legally with appropriate documentation to be transferred to the UK, subject to clear eligibility criteria and stringent security checks," she added.
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Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer announced a 'one in, one out' migrant deal between the UK and France last month
"This is an step towards undermining the business model of the organised crime gangs that are behind these crossings – undermining their claims that those who travel to the UK illegally can’t be returned to France. Now, as part of our Plan for Change, they can be."
Cooper said it was "right to make clear" that the UK would be ready to "play its part alongside other countries" to help people fleeing persecution and conflict.
"This must be done in a controlled and managed legal way, not through dangerous, illegal, and uncontrolled routes," the Home Secretary added.
“We will develop the pilot step by step and will trial different approaches as part of it, and alongside this scheme, we will continue to take action at every level to dismantle the criminal enterprise behind this vile trade, boosted by the £100 million in new investment announced this week to support increased enforcement against the gangs."
Any adult migrant, under the new treaty, will be at risk of being returned to France "if their claim for asylum is considered inadmissible", according to the Home Office.
The department confirmed that Immigration Enforcement had "set aside space" at removal centres "while Border Force have an operational strategy ready to identify and process groups of inadmissible migrants for removal".
"Learning the lessons from the lengthy legal challenges affecting the Migration & Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, the UK government is also prepared to robustly defend any legal challenges to removal within the initial trial phase, as we look to ramp up both the pace and scale of returns over the course of the pilot scheme," the Home Office stated.
"The treaty governing the pilot scheme will remain in force until June 2026, and over this period both countries have committed to continually review and improve the process and effectiveness of this innovative approach."
The long-term future of arrangements will be reassessed in June 2026.
The Home Office indicated that returns to other countries and immigration enforcement work would continue alongside the UK-France treaty.
In its first year of Government, the department says Labour has returned more than 35,000 people who have no right to be in the UK - "a 28 per cent increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and a 13 per cent increase in overall returns compared to the previous year".
The Department stated that French authorities are stepping up enforcement efforts to prevent small boat crossings, disrupt the supply of equipment to the French coast, and apprehend members of the criminal networks behind the operation.
Migrants wanting to come to the UK legally "will be able to submit an Expression of Interest" application for the Home Office to make a determination.
Those migrants must establish their identity and nationality and undergo strict security and eligibility checks. They must also have never attempted to arrive in the UK by a small boat.