In the second quarter of 2026, European Union member states ordered 110,335 non-EU citizens to leave the bloc’s territory, with 36,825 individuals already returned to third countries following such orders.
According to Eurostat, the number of return orders issued to non-EU citizens decreased by 12% compared to the second quarter of 2025, while the number of people returned to third countries increased by 9.7%.
Compared to the previous quarter, the number of orders to leave EU territory dropped by 3.9% in the second quarter of 2026, whereas the number of persons actually returned to third countries rose by 5.9%.
Orders to leave EU territory were most frequently issued to citizens of Algeria (10,390 people), Morocco (6,200), and Syria (5,180).
Regarding those returned to third countries, the largest groups were citizens of Turkey (3,765 people), Syria (2,770), and Georgia (2,140).
France issued the highest number of orders to leave the European Union (32,420), followed by Portugal (11,190) and Germany (8,160).
At the same time, the highest rates of actual migrant returns to third countries were recorded in Germany (8,400 people), France (3,825), and Poland (3,005).
