Rwanda Signals Openness to Hosting Migrants from Europe as EU "Return Hub" Plans Advance

Rwanda is open to hosting migrants transferred from European countries, according to two European Parliament lawmakers who recently visited Kigali. But there is no deal yet.

Tineke Strik and Anna Strolenberg, of the Greens/EFA and Volt groups, said Rwandan officials told them they are open to the idea but that discussions remained at an early stage and no agreements had been reached. They briefed journalists on Wednesday, September 30.

The push behind the talks
The discussions are tied to a wider European effort. Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands, known as the Group of Five, said they had agreed on concrete steps towards establishing return hubs in a non-EU country. The aim is to send people with no legal right to stay in the bloc to a third country.

The lawmakers also said Kigali's officials described ongoing negotiations with the five EU countries. Greece's migration minister said this week that Athens is aiming to open a centre in 2027 in an African country that has already been agreed on, though he did not name it.

The Reuters report adds that the lawmakers were shown two facilities prepared under Britain's abandoned Rwanda deportation scheme that could house transferred migrants.

A familiar partner
Rwanda has been here before. Britain's plan to deport migrants there was abandoned, while Rwanda is among a number of African countries that have received migrants from the United States under a separate, contested scheme. That experience helps explain why Kigali is seen as a likely first partner.

The arguments
Supporters say return hubs could facilitate repatriations and act as a deterrent for would-be irregular migrants. Critics are blunt. They liken the hubs to "legal black holes" that could leave migrants stranded in limbo with little oversight.

Rights groups urge legal safeguards and independent monitoring, and the lawmakers themselves oppose the hubs on human rights and other grounds.

What to watch
For Africa, the main question is who bears the legal and humanitarian responsibility for people moved far from the countries where they sought protection. Rwanda's openness is a signal, not an agreement. The details that matter will be the legal status of those transferred, independent oversight, and what Rwanda receives in return.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Reuters, "Rwanda open to hosting migrants transferred from Europe, EU lawmakers say" (Sept 30, 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/rwanda-open-hosting-migrants-transferred-181528141.html

AFP via 24NewsHD, "Work on migrant return hubs 'progressing well', EU countries say": https://24newshd.tv/01-Oct-2026/work-migrant-return-hubs-progressing-well-eu-countries-say

AFP via eNCA, "EU talks deportations as five nations seek migrant centre in Africa": https://enca.com/news-top-stories/eu-talks-deportations-five-nations-seek-migrant-centre-africa

Sowetan, "Rwanda open to accepting migrants transferred from Europe, EU lawmakers say": https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/africa/2026-10-01-rwanda-open-to-accepting-migrants-transferred-from-europe-eu-lawmakers-say/