THE road to Rwanda begins in the middle of the English Channel where an invisible line divides French waters from those of the UK.
Small boats carrying refugees will be stopped by Border Force agents there and taken on board while alerting the Royal Navy.
The Navy will collect the empty boats while Border Force agents take their charges to a port in Dover for an initial assessment which includes checking whether the people taken in are sick or have other health problems.
Asylum seekers arriving in Dover/PA
They will then be taken to a new processing site in Manston, Kent, which has been set up by the Home Office in a converted former military base.
READ MORE: Home Office refuses to rule out sending kids to Rwanda under new deal
New arrivals will be detained there for around ten days and unable to leave for any reason.
Those who entered the country illegally are at risk of being sent to Rwanda. The Home Office said no one will be removed from the UK if it is deemed unsafe for them and the scheme is only “envisaged” to include adults currently. But it has refused to rule out the possibility children will be sent to East Africa in future.
If the person is selected for relocation, they could be put on a taxpayer-funded flight chartered by the UK Government to Rwanda.
Here, they will be put up in a hotel. The UK Government has not secured any hotels as yet though they expect to let people know they could be sent away in the coming weeks. The first flights are expected in the next few months, the Home Office has said.
READ MORE: The truth about Rwanda's 'dismal' human rights record
Asylum seekers will then have their claims processed in Rwanda. This means they are no longer eligible to claim asylum in the UK, though they have the right to appeal the decision to be sent there.
The Home Office says asylum seekers in Rwanda will have access to lawyers, interpreters, food and hygienic facilities.
Rwandans waiting to vote at a polling station in Kigali in 2017
If their claim is successful they will move out of the hotel and the Rwandan government has promised to integrate them into society.
If they are unsuccessful, the person will be sent back to their home county or another country to which they have access but they will not be sent to the UK.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed a deal which will see the UK invest £120 million in Rwanda in exchange for taking refugees away from Britain.
It is inspired by a similar initiative in Australia which was ended after it was ruled illegal.
The scheme has been branded unlawful by asylum seekers rights groups and the government recognises it is likely to face multiple legal challenges over the plans.
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