The EU returned 36,825 people to third countries in the second quarter, nearly 10% more than a year earlier

European Union countries issued 110,335 orders to leave to non-EU citizens in the second quarter of 2026, while 36,825 people were effectively returned to third countries following such an order. Compared with the same period in 2025, orders to leave fell by 12%, while returns increased by 9.7%.

In brief
EU countries issued 110,335 orders to leave in the second quarter of 2026.

36,825 people were returned to third countries following an order to leave, 9.7% more than a year earlier.

Compared with the previous quarter, the number of orders to leave fell by 3.9%, while the number of returns increased by 5.9%.

Some 60.8% of returns to third countries were voluntary, while 39.2% were forced. Nearly three-quarters of returns benefited from some form of assistance.

Germany reported the highest number of returns, while citizens of Türkiye, Syria and Georgia formed the largest groups by citizenship.

The number of people returned from the European Union to third countries continued to rise in the second quarter of 2026, while the number of new orders to leave fell. Eurostat recorded 36,825 people returned following an order to leave, 9.7% more than in the same period last year and 5.9% more than in the previous quarter. At the same time, the 110,335 people who received an order to leave represent a 12% year-on-year decrease and a 3.9% decline compared with the previous quarter.

France issued the highest number of orders to leave, 32,420, accounting for nearly three in ten orders recorded in the EU. Portugal followed with 11,190, and Germany with 8,160. By citizenship, the largest number of orders concerned people from Algeria, 10,390, followed by citizens of Morocco, 6,200, and Syria, 5,180.

The distribution is different for actual returns. Germany reported 8,400 people returned to third countries, France 3,825, and Poland 3,005. Together, the three countries accounted for 41.4% of the returns reported in the EU during the period under review. By citizenship, the largest groups were people from Türkiye, with 3,765 returns, Syria, with 2,770, and Georgia, with 2,140.

The data also provide information on how departures took place. Across the EU, 60.8% of returns to third countries were voluntary, while 39.2% were forced. Eurostat also shows that 74% of returned people received some form of material or other assistance associated with their return, while 26% of returns were classified as unassisted.

The difference between the 110,335 orders to leave and the 36,825 returns does not indicate the proportion of orders carried out during the quarter in question. People returned in a given period may be people who received the order to leave in a previous quarter. An order may be followed by departure several months later, and enforcement may be postponed or modified depending on the administrative and judicial procedures applicable to each case.

The statistics measure people, not the total number of administrative acts, and each person must be counted only once in each dataset for the quarter concerned. Transfers of asylum applicants between European countries under mechanisms determining the country responsible for examining an asylum application are not included in these return statistics.

The European framework defines a return decision as an administrative or judicial decision establishing the illegal stay of a third-country national and imposing an obligation to return. Return may take place voluntarily or through the forced enforcement of the obligation, while European legislation provides procedural safeguards, including the possibility of challenging the decision and situations in which removal must be postponed.

Eurostat collects statistics on orders to leave and actual returns from national authorities. Quarterly series are available from 2021, and the data for the second quarter of 2026 cover the period from April to June. Differences between national administrative procedures and changes in data sources may limit some direct comparisons between countries.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/ue-a-returnat-36825-de-persoane-in-tari-terte-in-trimestrul-al-doilea-cu-aproape-10-mai-multe-intr-un-an