LUXEMBOURG / EuroWire / – EU countries returned 34,550 people to third countries in the first quarter of 2026, an 8.1% rise from a year earlier, Eurostat said. The figure covers non-EU citizens returned after receiving an order to leave. The same data showed 108,475 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave an EU country during the quarter. That total fell 12.8% from the first quarter of 2025.
Returns also rose from the previous quarter. The number of people returned to third countries increased 2.0% from the fourth quarter of 2025. Orders to leave moved in the other direction, declining 7.9% from the previous quarter. The data tracks two separate measures in EU migration enforcement. One counts decisions ordering people to leave. The other counts returns completed after such orders.
France issued the highest number of orders to leave in the first quarter, with 34,880 cases. Germany followed with 10,360, while Spain recorded 9,275. Those three countries accounted for a large share of orders across the bloc. The figures refer to people, not procedures. They are rounded to the nearest five, which can affect totals across country tables.
Nationalities lead return data
Algerian citizens made up the largest group ordered to leave an EU country, with 11,105 cases. Moroccan citizens followed with 6,435 orders. Syrian citizens ranked third, with 5,355 orders. Türkiye and Tunisia also appeared among the leading citizenship groups for orders to leave. The rankings show the main nationalities in the enforcement data for the quarter.
Turkish citizens formed the largest group returned to third countries, with 3,555 people. Georgians followed with 2,060 returns. Albanians ranked third, with 2,050 returns. Syrians and Colombians were also among the top five citizenship groups returned outside the bloc. Returns to third countries made up 91.8% of all returns recorded in the quarter, including other readmission categories.
Germany records highest returns
Germany recorded the highest number of returns to third countries, with 7,300 people. France followed with 3,775 returns, while Poland reported 2,660. Together, those three countries accounted for 39.8% of the EU total. At bloc level, 59.6% of returns to third countries were voluntary. Forced returns accounted for 40.4% of the total in the first quarter.
Assisted returns made up 74.1% of returns to third countries. Non-assisted returns accounted for 25.9%. Germany, Spain and Portugal reported all returns to third countries as assisted. Separate figures showed 445 orders to leave issued to unaccompanied minors in the quarter. The Netherlands issued 195 of those orders, followed by Greece with 130 and Croatia with 45.