"From today... anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a speech near Dover in southeastern England.
"Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead," Johnson said.
He called the East African nation with a sketchy human rights record "one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrants."
Johnson was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration but has instead seen record numbers making the risky Channel crossing.
He also announced that Britain's border agency would hand responsibility for patrolling the Channel for migrant boats to the navy.
More than 28,000 people arrived in Britain having crossed the Channel from France in small boats in 2021.
Around 90 percent of those were male and three-quarters were men aged between 18 and 39.
The Rwanda plan swiftly drew the ire of opposition politicians who accused Johnson of trying to distract from his being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, while rights groups slammed the project as "inhumane".
Ghana and Rwanda had previously been mentioned as possible locations for the UK to outsource the processing of migrants, but Ghana in January denied involvement.
Instead, Kigali on Thursday announced that it had signed a multi-million-dollar deal to do the job, during a visit by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.
"Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence" in the East African nation, Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said in a statement.
The deal with Rwanda will be funded by the UK to the tune of up to 120 million pounds ($157 million, 144 million euros), with migrants "integrated into communities across the country," it said.
In Dover, where many migrants arrive after crossing the Channel, some residents welcomed the announcement.
"They should be sent back, because it is not our responsibility," said retiree Andy, 68.
"Our responsibility is to look after our own people, which we aren't doing," the heavily tattooed army veteran told AFP.
"I understand people escaping from repression, I do. But if they're coming over here for one thing and that is money, to me that is wrong."
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