Eurostat reports increase in third-country national returns for 2025

Eurostat data published on Tuesday shows that Cyprus carried out 10,630 returns of third-country nationals in 2025, an increase from 8,910 in 2024. The number of people refused entry to Cyprus also rose to 1,145 from 800 the previous year. Across the European Union, the number of persons refused entry at external borders reached 132,600, a 7.1% increase compared to 2024. Conversely, the number of third-country nationals found to be residing illegally in member states decreased by 21.7% to 719,395. EU-wide, 491,950 individuals were ordered to leave, up 5.8% from 2024, while actual removals to non-EU countries rose by 20.9% to 135,460. Germany recorded the highest number of removals with 29,295, followed by France with 14,940 and Sweden with 11,250. The largest groups of those returned to non-EU countries included citizens from Turkey, Georgia, Syria, and Albania. Cypriot authorities attributed these figures to ongoing migration management efforts aligned with EU regulations.