More than 33,800 people were returned from EU countries to non-EU countries in the final three months of 2025, up 13% on the same period a year earlier.
A total of 117,545 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave an EU country in the fourth quarter of 2025, while 33,860 were returned to “third countries” — meaning countries outside the EU — after an order to leave, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.
The number ordered to leave fell by 6.1% compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, while the number returned rose by 13.0%.
Compared with the previous quarter, orders to leave fell by 4.4% and returns dipped by 0.9%.
Among those ordered to leave in the fourth quarter of 2025, the largest groups were citizens of Algeria (12,455), Morocco (7,385) and Turkey (5,225).
France recorded highest number ordered to leave
France recorded the highest number of non-EU citizens ordered to leave in the quarter at 34,040, followed by Spain (12,380) and Germany (10,720), Eurostat said.
For returns to third countries, the largest groups were citizens of Turkey (3,155), Georgia (2,390) and Syria (2,105).
Germany recorded the highest number of returns at 7,690, followed by France (3,800) and Sweden (2,870).
