The number of people returning to their home countries, after receiving an order to leave the EU+ countries has increased by 25 per cent in 2023, jumping from 89,000 to 111,185 people.
According to data by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, Georgians, Albanians and Turks, were ordered to leave the EU the most out of all other nationalities, representing 21 per cent or 23,750 people, reports.
Over 82 per cent, representing 91,465 people, were returned to countries outside of the EU, while the number of non-EU citizens issued with an order to leave an EU country increased by four per cent, reaching 466,350.
Most Leave Orders in 2023 Were Issued by Germany, France & Sweden
Out of 484,160 people ordered to leave the EU, eight per cent of those were issued by authorities in Germany, France, and Sweden.
These three countries together ordered a total of 37,945 people to leave the EU, with Germany leading the list (15,445), followed by France (12,170) and Sweden (10,330).
Countries on the other end of the scale, with lower numbers of people ordered to leave, include Slovenia (75), Luxembourg (230), Slovakia (265) and Ireland (285).
Almost 1.5 million more people were found to be illegally present in the European Union countries in 2023. The number of undocumented migrants increased by 13 per cent in 2023, up from 1.12 million recorded in 2022.
On a positive note, fewer people are being refused entry to the zone. Data shows that 118,935 people were refused entry in 2023, a 16 per cent decrease compared to 142,420 recorded in 2022.
Countries that had the highest refusals at external land borders, with all of them being over 70 per cent, include Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Estonia.
As regards air borders, Ireland had the highest number of refusals (6840), followed by Spain (6440) and Germany (5,815) in 2023. The only EE countries that recorded more than 1,000 refusals at sea borders in 2023 were France (1,345) and Italy (1,225).
Since 2020, the number of refusals of entry and returns has been on a steady trend, but the number of foreigners found to be illegally present in EU countries has surged by 27 per cent. The number of return decisions (orders to leave) in 2023 is the second highest since in almost one decade (2014).