Eurostat reports on third-country national return orders for Q2 2026

Eurostat has released data regarding return orders issued to third-country nationals in the European Union for the second quarter of 2026. During this period, the EU issued 110,335 return orders, while 36,825 individuals returned to third countries following such directives. This represents a 12.0% decrease in issued orders compared to the same period in 2025, although the number of actual returns increased by 9.7%.

In Cyprus, the number of return orders issued to third-country nationals reached 3,385 in the second quarter of 2026, a slight increase from the 3,355 recorded in the first quarter of the year. On a broader EU level, the primary nationalities subject to return orders were Algerian (10,390), Moroccan (6,200), and Syrian (5,180).

When compared to the first quarter of 2026, EU-wide return orders fell by 3.9%, while actual returns to third countries rose by 5.9%. These figures reflect the ongoing administrative and migratory trends managed by EU member states in their efforts to regulate the movement and status of non-EU citizens.