Belgian Ministers of Justice and Asylum and Migration, Annelies Verlinden and Anneleen Van Bossuyt, visited Albania and Kosovo on 6–8 October 2025. Their discussions addressed migration management, prison overcrowding, and bilateral cooperation in justice and security. Meetings involved national authorities and highlighted ongoing collaboration between Belgium and the two countries.

The Fedasil Info Point in Brussels has been supporting asylum seekers and other migrants for two years, providing accessible and centralised information in one location. Since reopening on 27 September 2023 at the former Bordet Hospital site, it has welcomed over 22.000 visitors, mostly single men with ongoing asylum procedures. Visitors most frequently ask about accommodation, medical care, legal support, and other practical matters. Partners such as Caritas International and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) assist in providing guidance and support.

Fedasil is organising an exhibition on voluntary return and reintegration at the Wintercircus. The Ghent-based Magnum photographer Carl De Keyzer portrays the stories of, among others, Rosa from El Salvador and Igis from Albania. This exhibition is organised in collaboration with Caritas International and the International Organization for Migration, with the support of AMIF.

The Council of the European Union has adopted a recommendation outlining a common framework for the gradual transition of displaced Ukrainians out of temporary protection. The measures aim to support sustainable return and reintegration in Ukraine when conditions allow, while also facilitating access to other residence statuses for those eligible. The recommendation provides guidance on voluntary return, reintegration support and information systems for displaced persons.

The European Commission’s proposed Return Regulation introduces measures to increase return rates across the EU. These include extended detention periods, returns to non-EU countries with no prior personal ties, offshore “return hubs”, and obligations for individuals subject to return orders. Over 200 civil society organisations have raised concerns about fundamental rights, legal uncertainty, and disproportionate impacts. They call on EU institutions to withdraw the proposal and reject it in its current form.

Eight officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) have started work at Brussels Airport to assist in return operations. They will operate alongside Belgian police to increase the number of returns. Their deployment follows the adoption of national legislation and a Royal Decree defining their powers and operational zones.

The Belgian Council of Ministers has approved a draft law enabling home searches, with judicial authorisation, in cases involving non-cooperative foreign nationals facing return and posing a threat to public order or national security. The measure is similar to one previously discussed in 2018 and will now be submitted to the Council of State for its opinion. Several civil society organisations have expressed concerns about its implications.

At their meeting on 13 June 2025, EU Home Affairs Ministers reached a political agreement to extend by one year, until March 2027, the temporary protection for people displaced from Ukraine. They also discussed ways to improve readmission cooperation with third countries and endorsed new priorities for the Schengen area.

Amnesty International and the Human Rights League are proposing a meeting with Françoise Tulkens, former judge and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, and Manuela Cadelli, judge at the Court of First Instance of Namur, to examine the consequences of the letter from nine European authorities calling for a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

In response to a recent call by several European Heads of State to reinterpret the European Convention on Human Rights, six Belgian human rights institutions have voiced strong concerns. They warn that such initiatives risk undermining the authority and independence of the European Court of Human Rights. The institutions urge the Belgian federal government to remain consistent with its international commitments and to clearly reaffirm its support for the Court and the Convention.

Backed by Italy and Denmark, a group of nine EU Member States has issued a letter calling for a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to facilitate the expulsion of foreign nationals convicted of crimes. While the letter's authors frame it as a call for open discussion, the move has raised concerns over judicial independence and the protection of fundamental rights in Europe.

On 21 and 22 May 2025, the European Migration Network’s Return Experts Group (EMN REG) convened a two-day workshop, hosted by the Belgian Immigration Office and EMN Belgium. The event brought together 50 participants from EU Member States, EU agencies (including Frontex and the EU Asylum Agency), civil society organisations, and international organisations. The workshop focused on the development and implementation of effective alternatives to detention (ATDs) within the EU’s migration and return systems.

The European Commission has released a proposal for a regulation establishing a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union. The new rules introduce, among other things, stronger obligations for returnees and the legal possibility of returning individuals who are illegally staying in the EU and have received a final return decision to a return hub in a third country. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU must now examine and negotiate the proposal.

In 2024, 1.261 detainees were forcibly returned from Belgian prisons, down from 1.428 in 2023 and 1.511 in 2022, according to the Immigration Office. The most represented nationalities among those returned were Albanians, Moroccans, and Algerians. This decline comes amid ongoing challenges linked to prison overcrowding and changes in early-release policies.

The Benelux countries and Suriname have agreed to facilitate the return of individuals in irregular situations from the Benelux or Suriname to their country of origin. Additionally, they have decided to grant visa-free travel for diplomats and government officials between the Benelux countries and Suriname.

In a position paper published on 6 February 2024, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) sets out the conditions that would have to be met for return hubs to respect fundamental rights and comply with EU law. This includes independent monitoring to reduce the risks of fundamental rights violations.

In 2024, Belgium saw a notable increase in the number of individuals choosing voluntary return to their country of origin. According to Fedasil’s press release from 3 February 2024, the total number of individuals opting for voluntary return rose by 11% compared to the previous year.

In a press release published on 27 January 2025, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration announced that Belgian authorities could organise the forced return of Afghans to Istanbul and that partners on the ground could then take them to Afghanistan. This collaboration and the budgets for it still need to be finalised by a new government.

The 2024 national conference of EMN Finland shall examine the state of play as well as the future prospects of the situation of Ukrainians in Finland and in EU countries. The conference aims to address the challenges of integration in a situation where beneficiaries of temporary protection find themselves between two countries. The conference seeks to support these persons in the limbo between integration and return.