World Immigration News

How has immigration enforcement in the EU evolved over the past year?

Release Date: 2025-06-02
Media: euronews
Summary: In 2024, over 120,000 non-EU nationals were refused entry into the EU, a figure that has remained largely stable since the pandemic. Meanwhile, returns of third-country nationals—both voluntary and forced—increased by about 20% compared to the previous year. There was also a 27.4% decrease in the number of people found to be illegally present in the EU, with Germany, France, and Italy accounting for over half of these cases.

Most entry refusals occurred at land borders, especially in Poland, Croatia, and Romania, followed by air borders, with France turning away the highest number. Sea border refusals were relatively rare, with Italy and France reporting the most.

The top nationalities refused entry were Ukrainians, Albanians, and Moldovans. Reasons for refusal were often the lack of a justified purpose for entry or missing valid visas or residence permits.

Regarding returns, Georgian nationals topped the list, followed by Turks, Albanians, and Moldovans. Of all returns, 53.8% were voluntary, while 46.2% were forced. The proportion of voluntary returns varied by country, with Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, and Czechia reporting over 90% voluntary returns, whereas Italy reported all returns as forced.
Tags: EUROPE

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