The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on return procedures had been significant across EU countries as well as OECD countries in and outside Europe since March 2020. This Inform looks into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on voluntary and forced return procedures and on policy responses. 

This EMN Inform summarizes the main findings of the EMN study “The effectiveness of return in EU Member States: challenges and good practices linked to EU rules and standards”.

This EMN Inform provides information concerning Member States’ practices on return and reintegration to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ad-Hoc Query, requested by the Swedish NCP on 24 August 2010 concerning the issuing of EU Laissez-Passer for return of third country nationals - 20 responses

Today the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, traveled to Tunisia, showing the importance of the migration partnership between Tunisia and the EU and the willingness for such partnership to be deepened in cooperation with the EU Member States. 

In the fourth quarter of 2022 (Q4 2022), there were 123 865 non-EU citizens ordered to leave an EU country (+11% compared with Q3 2022), and 28 155 non-EU citizens were returned to another country (including other EU countries) following an order to leave (+9% compared with Q3 2022). 

The return of irregular migrants is one of the main pillars of the EU’s policy on migration and asylum. In this light the EMN will conduct in 2017 a study on ‘The effectiveness of return in EU Member States: challenges and good practices linked to EU rules and standards‘. The synthesis report of this study is expected to be published at the end of 2017. The Belgian national report will probably be published at the beginning of 2018.

The Finnish Contact Point of the EMN organizes this conference to present and discuss the outcomes of the EMN study on the return of rejected asylum-seekers.

Today, the Commission confirmed that Greece is in the process of returning 308 irregular migrants to Turkey, as the EU steps up its efforts to ensure that those who do not qualify for international protection will be quickly and effectively returned to their countries of origin or transit.

On 12 and 13 June 2014, the European Migration Network Conference 2014 took place on "Irregular migration and return: challenges and practices". The Conference was organised in Athens, within the framework of the Hellenic Presidency of the EU Council.

PREMIG is a four-year research project 2011-2014 based at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The project addresses return migration from Norway and the United Kingdom