EU Expulsions Hit 5-Year High as Migrant Arrivals Drop 24%
The EU deported 155,000 migrants in 2025, the highest number since 2020, while new arrivals dropped from 5.4 million to 4.5 million between 2022 and 2024, a 24% decline. The figures come from newly released Eurostat data and reflect what analysts describe as a sustained trend rather than a short-term shift.
Repatriation orders reached nearly half a million last year, the highest rate since 2019. The gap between orders and actual deportations remains wide, however. France issued 138,000 removal orders but carried out fewer than 15,000, meaning the vast majority of those ordered to leave did not go.
France issued 138,000 removal orders but carried out fewer than 15,000.
Germany carried out the most expulsions of any EU member state, close to 30,000, followed by France at nearly 15,000 and Sweden at more than 11,000. Poland turned back the most migrants at its borders, almost 30,000, with France following at just over 12,000.
Turkish nationals were the most repatriated group across the bloc, with more than 13,000 returned, followed by Georgians at 10,475, Syrians at 8,370 and Albanians at 8,020. The number of asylum seekers granted protection status also fell to 361,000, the lowest figure since 2019.
European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner said the bloc is on the final stretch of the largest reform of the European asylum and migration system ever attempted. He pointed to the Entry/Exit System as part of a push for what he called the most modern border management system in the world, while acknowledging that considerable work remains ahead.
The EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted in 2024, is now in its implementation phase. According to a European Commission report published earlier this month, member states have significantly advanced in rolling out its provisions, which include tighter external border controls and a shared framework for asylum decisions.
