Chagossian migrants are flocking to Britain in significant numbers following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's controversial deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Major UK airports have reported a sharp increase in arriving families in recent months, with many appearing to have made hasty decisions to relocate.
The surge comes after the Government finalised an agreement to hand over the Indian Ocean archipelago after 200 years of British rule.
Many of those arriving have expressed concerns about potentially becoming Mauritian citizens, preferring instead to exercise their rights as British citizens granted to them in 2002 under Sir Tony Blair's Government.
Chagossians have fled their homeland after Starmer signed the deal last week
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Starmer signed the deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius last week
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Hillingdon Council, which covers Heathrow Airport, has reported receiving 343 Chagossian arrivals since discussions about the transfer began in October last year.
The council documented 187 people from the islands arriving in the final quarter of 2024, with a further 156 arriving since the beginning of 2025.
Many of these families are arriving at Heathrow "without onward travel plans and seeking housing support," according to council officials.
Similar patterns have reportedly been observed at other major entry points, with "significant numbers" also arriving through Manchester and Gatwick airports in recent months.
The financial burden on local authorities is substantial, with Hillingdon Council projecting costs of £1.2million annually to support the Chagossian arrivals.
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Chagos Islands location
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Chagossian protesters criticised the deal
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While the council has a legal duty to provide support to these British citizens, central Government funding only covers 10 days of housing costs.
Many families require private rented accommodation for six months or more until they become settled, with the council bearing the financial responsibility.
Cllr Ian Edwards, leader of the Tory-run Hillingdon Council, has called for additional Government support to address these mounting costs as the influx continues.
The situation is expected to worsen with further arrivals anticipated in the coming months.
According to Cllr Ian Edwards, anecdotal evidence from those arriving indicates they left Mauritius because of "the decision around the transfer" of the Chagos Islands.
"Increasingly we are hearing, and it's being evidenced, that they don't wish to become Mauritian citizens so the alternative is come to the UK," he said.
Bombers at the base on Diego Garcia
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Olivier Bancoult is president of the Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group
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Chagossians were granted British citizenship by Sir Tony Blair's Government in 2002, recognising the fact they were forcibly removed from their homeland in the 1960s to make way for the Diego Garcia military base.
Many of those evicted originally relocated to Mauritius, with others settling in the Seychelles.
Under the deal signed by Sir Keir Starmer, Britain will hand control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which has never previously owned them and is located 1,500 miles away.
The UK will then lease back Diego Garcia, the largest island and home to a joint UK-US military base, for 99 years at a cost of £30billion.
The Prime Minister has defended the agreement as a key contribution to Britain's security ties with the United States, insisting there was "no alternative" to the pact.
Critics have attacked the deal over both security concerns and the lack of consultation with Chagossians who hope to eventually return to their homeland.
While some Chagossians have opposed the handover of the archipelago, others based in Mauritius have supported the agreement.
The Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group stated that "the majority of island-born Chagossians and their descendants" backed the deal.
Olivier Bancoult, the group's president, said: "This agreement marks the end of colonial occupation, but it must not herald the start of a new silence.
"Alongside Mauritian sovereignty, there must now be clear guarantees for Chagossian rights – for memory, for justice, and above all, for the future."
Mauritius passed a law in 2021 which criminalised "misrepresenting the sovereignty of Mauritius over any part of its territory" including the Chagos Islands.
