Asylum seeker attended routine sign-in at immigration center in London on Monday Home Office: First flight to African country ‘set to take off in 10-12 weeks’ LONDON: A Sudanese asylum seeker in the UK has been told of his imminent deportation to Rwanda after attending a routine Home Office appointment, The Guardian reported. SOAS Detainee Support, an NGO, told the newspaper that the case is believed to be the first under the Rwanda scheme, which has received royal assent. The UK government policy aims to deport rejected asylum seekers to the African country through a bilateral agreement. The Sudanese man said he had arrived on Monday to sign in at the Lunar House immigration reporting center in Croydon, south London, but was told he would be deported to Rwanda, and was subsequently detained. He is one of three people being held after attending the facility, including an Afghan national, SDS said. The NGO, which offers advice and support to detained asylum seekers, said it had received an “alarmingly high number of calls” since the government’s announcement of Rwanda flights. A Home Office spokesperson said in a statement: “Now that the Safety of Rwanda Act has passed and our treaty with Rwanda ratified, government is entering the final phase of operationalising this landmark policy to tackle illegal migration and stop the boats. “This includes detaining people in preparation for the first flight, which is set to take off to Rwanda in 10-12 weeks.”