The United Kingdom government has sent the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda under the voluntary removal scheme after a delay in the implementation of an earlier scheme which would forcefully remove asylum seekers with failed applications.

According to the Sun, the unnamed migrant voluntarily boarded a plane out of the United Kingdom on Monday evening as he headed to the East African country to begin a new life with the government providing him £3000 in financial aid.

Other failed asylum seekers willing to move to Rwanda could receive up to £3000 in financial incentives. The move is part of the UK government’s many efforts to discourage thousands of illegal migrants arriving in the country on boats. 

Meanwhile, the Rwandan government confirmed the arrival of the failed asylum seekers in the country on Tuesday.

It is the first time the UK government has sent an illegal migrant to a third country, which is only the first phase of deporting failed asylum seekers to Rwanda under the agreement signed between Kigali and London to house small boat migrants.

The initial scheme to forcibly deport migrants and failed asylum seekers to Rwanda is set to commence in July after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had last week signed into law a bill that allows them to be detained ahead of flights to East Africa.