In the first eight months of 2026, 1.239 prisoners without a residence permit were returned to their country of origin following their detention in Belgium, according to figures published by the Immigration Office. This represents an increase compared with the 991 returns recorded during the same period in 2025 and the 828 recorded in 2024.

During a visit to the prison in Beveren, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration said that more illegally staying detainees are being sent back directly from prisons, through the work of the return counsellors in the detention facilities.