Dutch broadcaster reports Rwanda chosen as site of first EU return hub

Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws reported on Wednesday 28 October 2026 that the first European "return hub" for rejected asylum seekers outside the European Union will be set up in Rwanda. It cited unnamed sources speaking to its political desk. They said the plan will be officially announced at a special meeting in Vienna on 16 November. A return hub is a facility outside the EU where people whose asylum claims were rejected wait to be returned to their country of origin.

No government has confirmed the choice of Rwanda. The Rwandan government has not commented on the RTL report. According to NL Times, Dutch Minister for Asylum and Migration Bart van den Brink declined to comment to RTL. The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Greece, which RTL says have explored a facility in a non-European country in recent months, have discussed return hubs publicly. Denmark's migration minister, Morten Bødskov, said Denmark expects to be ready to send migrants to a hub by the end of 2027, and Greece's migration minister also said he wanted hubs operational by 2027. They have not publicly named a location. RTL did not say who will attend the Vienna meeting.

What has been reported, and by whom

RTL's sources did not say whether the Hope Hostel in Kigali would be used, or what Rwanda would receive in return. RTL reported that the hostel was prepared for the abandoned UK deal. It is empty now, according to RTL, with room for about 100 people. After visiting the site, RTL's Africa correspondent said it "fits the ideal picture for the Netherlands and other European countries that are promising a 'safe return hub,'" according to NL Times.

AFP reported on 20 October, citing three people briefed on talks held in Kigali and Brussels, that Rwanda is expected to host the first hub. It said a deal could be signed as early as November. AFP's sources described a pilot of about 100 people, with each of the five countries possibly sending around 20. It would not be a detention facility, and one source said Kigali is inclined to call it a "welcome centre". Agence Europe, citing AFP, reported on 21 October that a signing could take place on the sidelines of the Vienna Migration Conference, held on 16 and 17 November by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development.

The Financial Times reported on 28 October, citing five people briefed on the talks, that the five countries are close to a deal. As relayed by Italian agency ANSA, the FT said first transfers could involve "a few hundred" people, mostly from Greece. That is more than AFP's sources gave. Numbers and timetable are still to be defined.

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What to watch next

The next verifiable moments are 16 November, when RTL's sources expect an announcement in Vienna, and the interior ministers' end-of-year target for signing partnerships. Until governments say on the record where the hub is and how it works, the Rwanda choice remains a report.

Outsourcing deportation to African states is not only a European project. In April, Kinshasa confirmed a deal to receive third-country deportees from the United States. The legal settings differ, but the same question follows each transfer: who answers for people once they have been moved?