Eurostat: returns of migrants from the EU up by 29% in the second quarter of 2023. Mandatory returns also to Afghanistan

In the second quarter of 2023, 105,865 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave an EU country, and a total of 26,600 were returned to another country following an order to leave. This is according to a research published by Eurostat today. Compared with the same quarter of 2022, the number of non-EU citizens ordered to leave the EU country rose by 9%, while the number of people returned to another country rose by 29%. Compared with the previous quarter of this year, the number of orders to leave decreased by 5%. “The majority of those returned in accordance with an order to leave are those returned to countries located outside of the EU. This was also the case in the second quarter of 2023, with 76% of individuals returned to” non-EU countries. Among those returned, “Moroccan and Algerian citizens recorded the biggest share of the total (8% each), followed by citizens of Türkiye (5%), Georgia (5%), and Afghanistan (4%)”. Looking at the national data, the highest numbers of non-EU citizens ordered to leave the territory of an EU country were recorded in France (34,810), Germany (10,600), and Greece (7,095). The highest numbers of people returned to another country were recorded in Germany (3,805), France (3,005), and Sweden (2,690).
Gianni Borsa