Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave the EU

In 2024, 123 655 third-country nationals were refused entry into the EU territory at one of its external borders, a small increase of 0.3% compared with 2023. 

918 925 people were found to be illegally present in an EU country, representing a 27.4% decrease compared with the 1.27 million in the previous year. The number of third-country nationals issued with an order to leave an EU country was 453 380, a 7.3% decline compared with 2023 (489 335).

Following an order to leave, 110 385 third-country nationals were returned to a third country, a 19.3% increase compared with 92 540 in 2023.

Germany reported the largest number of third-country nationals returned to a third country (15 230), followed by France (14 685) and Sweden (9 910). Georgians (11 585) topped the list of third-country nationals returned, followed by Turks (7 910) and Albanians (7 895).