Germany intends to further criminalise migration via the English Channel. Cooperation with the neighbouring states is being intensified. This includes removals from the internet.
The German government wants to criminalise “human smuggling” across the English Channel to Great Britain – even though, due to the lack of a shared border, it does not occur directly from Germany. It is anticipated that an existing provision in the Residence Act will be extended to cover smuggling via the Channel route. This is how the Federal Interior Ministry explains it in its response to a minor interpellation from the Left Party parliamentary group, which has been seen by “nd”.
The background is the alleged sharp increase in smuggling activities in the years following Brexit. The project is one of 17 “lighthouse projects” under the German-British friendship treaty (“Kensington Treaty”) and is to be implemented promptly.
An earlier formulation also suggests that the migrants themselves are intended to be prosecuted: in response to a written question from a right-wing party MP, the ministry recently reported on plans to “criminalise the illegal migration from Germany to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. The precise design of this regulation is currently being “coordinated within the government”.
At an operational level, the Federal Police and some state police forces are involved in combating unwanted migration to Britain. As part of joint working groups like “Small Boats”, “regular” seizures of inflatable boats, boat engines and also life jackets are conducted – which are then no longer available for the already perilous crossings. Together with the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Federal Police is also participating in the “Wave” task force, coordinated by Europol, which aims for the “dismantling of criminal networks”.
In its response to the Left Party’s enquiry, the Interior Ministry also provides new figures: as part of operational cooperation, German authorities participated in six cross-border operations in 2024 and 2025 to “combat sea route smuggling” via the Channel route. This led to 35 arrests and the execution of 63 search warrants by the Federal Police.
Strategic decisions for such measures are made in the “Calais Group”, where Germany’s interior ministry collaborates with those of the English Channel neighbouring states – this cooperation is now set to be deepened. Within the “Calais Group”, the combating of online activities was also decided, and measures were agreed with the involvement of tech companies. The Federal Police has joined an “expert network for the observation of digital smuggling routes” and is collaborating on the British “Timeline” project, which aims to identify and subsequently delete the user profiles of smugglers.
The enquiry’s submitter, Clara Bünger, sharply criticises the measures: “As the Left Party, we are fundamentally opposed to the criminalisation of flight.” Criminalising departures from Germany, as is now planned with the United Kingdom, is absurd.
Published in German in ‘nd’.
Image: As part of joint investigation teams, German police are also conducting raids against alleged English Channel smugglers (Europol).
