Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
F2: Population and Migration
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
1 July 2021
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 July 2023
2.3. Metadata last update
21 February 2024
3.1. Data description
Enforcement of immigration legislation data (EIL statistics) contain statistical information based on Article 5 and 7 of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851 with reference to Third country nationals:
refused entry at the external border;
found to be illegally present;
ordered to leave;
returned following an order to leave.
The national framework has an important impact on the resulted figures (the data comparability between the Member States is limited due to the national specific rules and procedures).
EIL data are based on administrative sources and are provided mainly by the Ministries of Interior or related Immigration Agencies. All of the data collected are disaggregated by citizenship.
Some category of data is collected on voluntary basis.
Recent change in EIL data collection
Regulation 2020/851 amending Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007 introduced several changes such as increasing the frequency of the data collection on returns and collecting more breakdowns for the statistics on third country nationals found to be illegally present and third country nationals returned. 2021 year is the first reference period for the amendments (E.G., 1st quarter of 2021 represent the first reference period affected by the introduced by the Regulation 2020/851 for quarterly staistics on returns).
More details on the changes see Annex 5, 2021 EIL Technical Guidelines (see below).
The dissemination of the annual statistics is mainly in March of each year for the previous reference year, depending on the data availability. The dissemination of the quarterly data is mainly in March, June, September and December, of each year for the previous reference quarter, depending on the data availability.
Data have been rounded to the nearest 5 while the EU aggregate is computed using the unrounded figures, which may trigger inconsistencies between the aggregate and the sum of the values.
Newer EIL statistics
I. Starting with first reference year 2014 new statistics on third country nationals returned were collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis:
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship (migr_eirt_vol)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of assistance received and citizenship (migr_eirt_ass)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by type of agreement procedure and citizenship (migr_eirt_agr)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by destination country and citizenship (migr_eirt_des)
These new statistics is the result of a pilot data collection; clarifications and improvement is being pursued with the data providers. Technical and methodological limitations exist for some data providers and some figures might be estimated. As a result some inconsistency might exist between these statistics and the statistics provided for table 'Third country nationals returned following an order to leave (migr_eiord and migr_eirtn). In those cases where inconsistency between tables exists, data revision is expected.
II. Starting with first quarter of 2018 new quartely statistics on third country returned were as well collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis:
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave by citizenship age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
These new statistics were initially the result of a pilot data collection;
III. Starting with first quarter of 2018 age and sex categories are collected for the statistics on thirst country nationals subject of return procedure (ordered to leave and returned persons), annual and quarterly data, for the following tables:
Third country nationals ordered to leave - annual data (rounded) (migr_eiord)
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave - annual data (rounded) (migr_eirtn)
Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and and sex – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
IV. Starting with first quarter of 2021 the quarterly statistics on returns is becoming mandatory for all the Member States. Third country nationals unacompanied minors subject of return procedure are also collected following the Regulation 2020/851. The following tables are collected under this framework in 2021:
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
Third-country unaccompanied minors ordered to leave, by citizenship, age and sex of the minor – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord2)
Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and and sex – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
Third-country unaccompanied minors returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and sex of the minor – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn2)
Theese quality statistics are expected to meet the minimum requirements as stated in 2021 EIL Technical guidelines. However, the data availability is affected by the derogations granted to several countries, especially for the statistics on returns of unaccompanied minors. See list of the derogation granted are in the Commission implementing Decision (EU) 2021/431 of 10 March 2021 granting derogations to certain Member States from Regulation (EC) No 862/2007
Annex 4 present the data quality assessment done in June 2021 for the EIL quarterly statistics provided under the new framework refering to the Regulation 2020/851.
3.2. Classification system
Classification of citizenship is based on the ISO-3166 code list (using alpha-2) with minor changes.
These differences consist of minor changes that have occurred over time to reflect the creation of new countries or citizenships. In some cases, these citizenship categories are not universally recognised but are used by some Member States in the data supplied to Eurostat.
A further case is that of “Recognised non-citizen” – a category introduced by Eurostat to cover a "person who is not a citizen of the reporting country nor of any other country, but who has established links to that country including some but not all rights and obligations of full citizenship. Recognised non-citizens are not included in number of EU citizens." This category is used in Eurostat's population and migration statistics.
Unknown citizenship category is used in general for reporting the cases with missing information on citizenship (e.g. forged travel documents as reason of refusal).
3.3. Coverage - sector
Enforcement of immigration legislation.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Third country nationals:
Any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 17 (1) of the Treaty, including stateless persons (see Art. 2.1 (i) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007).
Third country nationals refused entry at the external border:
Third country nationals formally refused permission to enter the territory of a Member State (see Art. 2.1 (q) and 5.1(a) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). The external border is defined as in the Schengen Borders Code (Council Regulation (EC) No 562/2006, more details on Article 2.2). For countries which are not in the Schengen area, the external border is the same as the international border. The grounds for refusal refer to the Annex V part B of the Schengen Border Code, which is an administrative document in use in most of the Member States.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period, irrespective of the number of refusals issued to the same person.
Third country nationals found to be illegally present:
Third country nationals who are detected by Member States' authorities and have been determined to be illegally present under national laws relating to immigration (see Art. 2.1 (r) and 5.1(b) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). This category relates to persons who have been found to have entered illegally (for example by avoiding immigration controls or by employing a fraudulent document) and those who may have entered legitimately but have subsequently remained on an illegal basis (for example by overstaying their permission to remain or by taking unauthorised employment).
Only persons who are apprehended or otherwise come to the attention of national immigration authorities are recorded in these statistics. These are not intended to be a measure of the total number of persons who are present in the country on an unauthorised basis.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period.
Third country nationals ordered to leave:
Third country nationals found to be illegally present who are subject to an administrative or judicial decision or act stating that their stay is illegal and imposing an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State (see Art. 7.1 (a) of the Regulation).
These statistics do not include persons who are transferred from one Member State to another under the mechanism established by the Dublin Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 and (EC) No 1560/2003, for these cases see related Dublin Statistics).
Each person is counted only once within the reference period, irrespective of the number of notices issued to the same person.
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave:
Third country nationals who have in fact left the territory of the Member State, following an administrative or judicial decision or act stating that their stay is illegal and imposing an obligation to leave the territory (see Art. 7.1 (b) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). On a voluntary basis Member States provide Eurostat with a subcategory which relates to third country nationals returned to a third country only.
Persons who left the territory within the year may have been subject to an obligation to leave in a previous year. As such, the number of persons who actually left the territory may be greater than those who were subject to an obligation to leave in the same year.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period.
Starting with first reference year 2014 new statistics on third country returned were as well collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis. These new statistics are using the following definitions:
Voluntary Return
Voluntary Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national complies voluntarily with the obligation to return (i.e. no enforcement procedure had to be launched) and this departure is confirmed by the information from eg. the border authority or the consulate authorities in the country of origin or other authorities such as IOM or any other organisations implementing a program to assist migrants to return to a third-country. Definition based on Art 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC.
Enforced return
Enforced return, removal refers to the situation in which the third-country national is subject to the enforcement of the obligation to return (the enforcement procedure has been launched). Definition based on Art 3.5 and 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC.
Other concluded return
Other concluded return refers to the situation in which one can reasonably presume that the third country national was returned based on some assumptions (some information are missing and the departure is not confirmed by the information from the border authority).
Assisted Return
Assisted Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national was assisted to return. He/she is the beneficiary of a national or EU MS cooperative program to encourage return and to provide reintegration assistance. The TCN received (i) an in-kind assistance prior to departure (e.g. purchase of plane tickets) and/or (ii) in-cash allowances at the point of departure/upon arrival and/or (iii) an in-kind or in-cash reintegration assistance. Please note that beneficiaries of assisted return programs are mostly TCN who voluntarily return but some may also have been returned by force Definition based on Art 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC and Asylum and Migration Glossary 2.0.
Non-Assisted Return
Non-Assisted Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national is recorded with departure and he/she does not receive a support and assistance from the national authorities.
Readmission agreement
Readmission agreement refers to the situation where an international agreement exists between the reporting country and the country of return (of the third country national returned) under which the readmission procedure is set out.
Transit country
Transit country refers to the country that is considered intermediary destination of the TCN returned on the way to the country of Citizenship
Unaccompanied minors
Unaccompanied minor” means an unaccompanied minor as defined in article 2 of Directive 2011/95/EU:
‘minor’ means a third-country national or stateless person below the age of 18 years; article 2(k);
(l) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a minor who arrives on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him or her whether by law or by the practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as he or she is not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it includes a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the territory of the Member States;” article 2(l)
3.5. Statistical unit
Each table refers to the number of persons, not to the number of administrative decisions or acts.
3.6. Statistical population
Please see point 3.4 "Concepts and definitions".
3.7. Reference area
EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are available from 2008 onward.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Units of measure are absolute numbers of persons.
Calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The compilation of statistics on enforcement of immigration legislation is based on Article 5 and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851 which depicts in details the data provisions Member States are bound to supply Eurostat with.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable.
8.1. Release calendar
The dissemination of the annual statistics is mainly in March of each year for the previous reference year, depending on the data availability. The dissemination of the quarterly data is mainly in March, June, September and December, of each year for the previous reference quarter, depending on the data availability.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
Please consult free data on-line or refer to contact details.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Member States have the responsibility to send the statistics on enforcement of immigration legislation to Eurostat. Eurostat provide Technical Guidelines to the member States describing the procedures and the quality requirements for the statistics collected. Enforcement of immigration legislation data contain statistical information based on Article 5 and 7 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
The compilation of statistics on enforcement of immigration legislation is based on Article 5 and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851 which depicts in details the data provisions Member States are bound to supply Eurostat with.
11.1. Quality assurance
Statistics on enforcement of immigration legislation are based entirely on administrative sources. Member States compile data in compliance with the Council Regulation (EC) 862/2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851and following guidelines and instructions provided by Eurostat. Before publishing the data, consistent validation checks are performed.
Non-compliance follow-up measures have been launched by the Commission in response to the most serious cases of missing or incomplete data – where for example, no data have been supplied by a country in response to a data collection. Actions undertaken have demonstrated that a large majority of Member States make a serious effort to be compliant. In addition, in several cases, a solution to the difficulties could be found thanks to reciprocal collaboration between the national authorities and Commission's services.
Certain differences in definitions and practices of producing statistics exist between countries. Compliance with the Regulation requirements ensures a sufficient level of accuracy and comparability.
Many Member States have introduced more integrated and comprehensive administrative systems that make use of modern IT and communication methods. Problems of missing and incomplete data do still occur (see the annexes) often been caused by the non-recording of certain information in the administrative systems that are frequently used as data sources. A number of national authorities have introduced improved procedures to ensure that the necessary information is gathered as part of the immigration administrative process and better computing systems to allow this information to be readily accessed to be included in the statistical data. Non-compliance follow-up measures have been launched by the Commission in response to the most serious cases of missing or incomplete data – where for example, no data have been supplied by a country in response to a data collection. Actions undertaken have demonstrated that a large majority of Member States make a serious effort to be compliant (see also Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007).
For country-specific available information please see the link above to the EIL national metadata files providing more country specific details. Some of the national metadata files are in the process of publication (will be available soon).
Starting with first reference year 2014 new statistics on third country returned were as well collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis:
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship (migr_eirt_vol)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of assistance received and citizenship (migr_eirt_ass)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by type of agreement procedure and citizenship (migr_eirt_agr)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by destination country and citizenship (migr_eirt_des)
These new statistics is the result of a pilot data collection; clarifications and improvement is being pursued with the data providers. Technical and methodological limitations exist for some data providers and some figures might be estimated. As a result some inconsistency might exist between these statistics and the statistics provided for table 'Third country nationals returned following an order to leave. In those cases where inconsistency between tables exists, data revision is expected. Data availability together with the data quality is expected to increase in the following reference period, depending on national statistical capabilities and limitations. The national framework has an important impact on the resulted figures (the data comparability between the Member States is limited due to the national specific rules and procedures).
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Within the Commission, the main user of migration and asylum statistics is DG Home Affairs. However, these statistics are also frequently used by other Directorates General. The statistics are used in several publications of the Commission, as well as in the preparation of regular reports, policy proposals and analysis. For example, the Commission's Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum uses these statistics as a means to quantify progress made towards the implementation of the 2008 European Pact on Immigration and Asylum and to highlight recommendations for further actions. Migration and asylum statistics are also used by the European Migration Network (EMN) as a basis for its annual EU- and national-level statistical and analytical reports. The statistics also provide an input to the EMN studies and reports that address specific issues of current policy importance. The statistics collected under the Regulation are widely used in official publications and by a wide range of users. In addition to publication on the Eurostat website and on-line dissemination database, there are regular Eurostat quarterly and annual publications that provide updated statistics and statistical commentary. The statistics produced under the Regulation are regularly used by national administrations, academic researchers and civil society groups working on a wide range of topics including the integration of immigrants, the development and monitoring of national asylum and immigration procedures, and the projection of the future population and labour force.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not available.
12.3. Completeness
For a few Member States, fully disaggregated data may not be available.
The implementation of the Regulation has resulted in increases in the completeness and degree of harmonisation of European statistics on migration and international protection. However, despite these improvements, further work is still needed for some of the statistics collected and in some of the Member States. Problems of missing and incomplete data do still occur. These problems can vary from the total non-supply of any data covered by an article of the Regulation in the worst cases, to the nonavailability of a specific table or disaggregation. Where disaggregations are lacking, this has often been caused by the non-recording of certain information in the administrative systems that are frequently used as data sources.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The accuracy of the data collected under Articles 5 and 7 of the Regulation depends on the accuracy and efficiency of the underlying administrative systems. The widespread redevelopment of administrative systems had a strongly positive impact on the accuracy of the statistical data.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
Data should be supplied to Eurostat no later than 3 months after the end of the reference period for annual data collection and no later than 2 months after the end of the reference period for quarterly statistics.
14.2. Punctuality
Enforcement of immigration legislation data are generally published within 4 months after the reference year and withing 3 months after the reference quarter.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Due to the recent implementation of the enforcement of immigration legislation data collection, some methodological and administrative differences still exist between the Member States. Some countries are in the process of harmonisation with the definitions, reducing conceptual disparities and changing data availability and completeness status for some categories of data. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the countries please see the methodological annexes concerning the level of compliance with definitions and data completeness.
The national framework has an important impact on the resulted figures (the data comparability between the Member States is limited due to the national specific rules and procedures).
15.2. Comparability - over time
The enforcement of immigration legislation statistics should be compiled based on same methodology and the outputs should be comparable between years. Due to the ongoing methodological improvements which may occur at different reference periods, Member States may apply different rules for the same years, for some categories of data. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the years please see the methodological annexes.
In 2020, some 137 800 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its external borders, down 79% compared with 670 800 in the previous year. This can be explained by the closing of the borders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the 21 EU Member States where the number of refusals decreased between 2019 and 2020, by far the largest fall was observed in Spain, from 493 500 in 2019 to 3 500 in 2020. This drop concerned almost entirely citizens of Morocco, as the number of Moroccans refused entry into Spain fell from 484 800 in 2019 to 500 in 2020.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Internal coherence (e.g. between years, coherent classification of data) is ensured through the application of the enforcement of immigration legislation methodology and through the various validations performed on the data before publication.
Fallowing the ongoing improvements of data processing and validation, some revisions of data are expected from the Member States. The majority of issues regarding to internal coherence are included in the methodological annexes.
The types of statistics required under the Regulation are needed also for national purposes, such as for the management of the national system for processing asylum applications or for the monitoring of border control policies. In almost all cases, the data used to produce the statistics are based on existing administrative and statistical systems. The specific burdens placed by the Regulation on national authorities are therefore related to the need to prepare particular disaggregations or tables that might not otherwise have been produced, and to the need to apply the harmonised statistical definitions and concepts. For some national authorities, this resulted in one-off costs associated with the necessary adaptations to methods, procedures and systems.
The extent of the additional burdens varied between Member States according to the degree of similarity between the existing national systems for migration statistics and the requirements of the Regulation. However, in most Member States and for most of the statistics covered by the Regulation, the additional costs and burden are believed to be relatively limited and to be proportionate to the benefits obtained at both EU and national level of having more complete and better harmonised migration statistics.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The general Eurostat revision policy applies to this domain. According to the policy for routine revisions, national data continue to be revised when additional information from national authorities becomes available. If errors are detected in either national data or in European aggregates, they are corrected immediately. Major revisions and changes in methodology which may lead to breaks in time series shall be announced in advance by the national data providers and approved by Eurostat.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The revision practice aligns effectively with the one outlined in sub-concept 17.1 (data revision - policy).
Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Whenever new country data are validated, the already disseminated data are updated. Revisions of aggregates are made directly after revisions of country data transmitted to Eurostat. Time series breaks caused by major revisions are flagged.
If inconsistencies between the quarterly and annual statistics provided for tables “Third country nationals ordered to leave” (migr_eiord) and ‘Third country nationals returned following an order to leave” (migr_eirtn), are detected, data revision is expected.
Major revisions are documented and communicated to users in a methodological note.
Data may be published despite incomplete datasets, with some data missing or flagged as provisional for specific statistics. Such data are replaced with the final versions upon transmission and validation.
The impact of major revisions is analysed in working documents produced for experts meetings held with representatives of the national data providers.
18.1. Source data
Administrative data sources only. Data are compiled from the administrative records of the national authorities, mainly the Ministries of Interior or Immigration Agencies
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual and quarterly.
18.3. Data collection
The statistics presented in this volume were collected by national authorities and supplied to Eurostat in XLS format (EXCEL worksheeet). Starting with 2015 the data format has changed to CSV long format and in 2021 CSV SDMX compatible was introduced.
18.4. Data validation
Data are validated through all processing steps, combining manual/visual validation with some tools integrated within the templates and the production environment. For example: checks of totals consistency; checks of magnitude of changes over time; using visual validation (visual verification of the tables or the graph resulted); checking the data integrity over each processing step; using special programs/software for data validation; checking if the double counting cases are excluded; checking the consistency between datasets; Checking the consistency between “TCN-s subjects to an obligation to leave” and “TCN-s who actually left the territory”.; checking the consistency between “TCN-s who returned to a Third Country” and “TCN-s who actually left the territory”.
Member States shall apply the validation checks of the permit statistics before providing data to Eurostat. The statistical process is different in each country. Therefore, each country shall develop its own data validation system, depending on the national infrastructure.
From 2015 a new validation system was designed for better data quality assurance. The same validation rules and validation tool applied at Eurostat level can be accessed by data providers for validating the data before data transmission).
18.5. Data compilation
List of EU aggregates used in EIL statistics:
• EU28 aggregate refers to European Union before the Brexit. This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK
• EU27_2020 aggregate refers to European Union (27 countries without the United Kingdom). This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE
• EU27 aggregate refers to European Union (before the accession of Croatia). This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK
EU aggregates are calculated by Eurostat only if all the countries have available data.
Enforcement of immigration legislation data (EIL statistics) contain statistical information based on Article 5 and 7 of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007 as amended by the Regulation 2020/851 with reference to Third country nationals:
refused entry at the external border;
found to be illegally present;
ordered to leave;
returned following an order to leave.
The national framework has an important impact on the resulted figures (the data comparability between the Member States is limited due to the national specific rules and procedures).
EIL data are based on administrative sources and are provided mainly by the Ministries of Interior or related Immigration Agencies. All of the data collected are disaggregated by citizenship.
Some category of data is collected on voluntary basis.
Recent change in EIL data collection
Regulation 2020/851 amending Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007 introduced several changes such as increasing the frequency of the data collection on returns and collecting more breakdowns for the statistics on third country nationals found to be illegally present and third country nationals returned. 2021 year is the first reference period for the amendments (E.G., 1st quarter of 2021 represent the first reference period affected by the introduced by the Regulation 2020/851 for quarterly staistics on returns).
More details on the changes see Annex 5, 2021 EIL Technical Guidelines (see below).
The dissemination of the annual statistics is mainly in March of each year for the previous reference year, depending on the data availability. The dissemination of the quarterly data is mainly in March, June, September and December, of each year for the previous reference quarter, depending on the data availability.
Data have been rounded to the nearest 5 while the EU aggregate is computed using the unrounded figures, which may trigger inconsistencies between the aggregate and the sum of the values.
Newer EIL statistics
I. Starting with first reference year 2014 new statistics on third country nationals returned were collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis:
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship (migr_eirt_vol)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of assistance received and citizenship (migr_eirt_ass)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by type of agreement procedure and citizenship (migr_eirt_agr)
Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by destination country and citizenship (migr_eirt_des)
These new statistics is the result of a pilot data collection; clarifications and improvement is being pursued with the data providers. Technical and methodological limitations exist for some data providers and some figures might be estimated. As a result some inconsistency might exist between these statistics and the statistics provided for table 'Third country nationals returned following an order to leave (migr_eiord and migr_eirtn). In those cases where inconsistency between tables exists, data revision is expected.
II. Starting with first quarter of 2018 new quartely statistics on third country returned were as well collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis:
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave by citizenship age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
These new statistics were initially the result of a pilot data collection;
III. Starting with first quarter of 2018 age and sex categories are collected for the statistics on thirst country nationals subject of return procedure (ordered to leave and returned persons), annual and quarterly data, for the following tables:
Third country nationals ordered to leave - annual data (rounded) (migr_eiord)
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave - annual data (rounded) (migr_eirtn)
Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and and sex – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
IV. Starting with first quarter of 2021 the quarterly statistics on returns is becoming mandatory for all the Member States. Third country nationals unacompanied minors subject of return procedure are also collected following the Regulation 2020/851. The following tables are collected under this framework in 2021:
Third country nationals ordered to leave by citizenship, age and sex - quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord1)
Third-country unaccompanied minors ordered to leave, by citizenship, age and sex of the minor – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eiord2)
Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and and sex – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn1)
Third-country unaccompanied minors returned following an order to leave, by type of return, citizenship, country of destination, age and sex of the minor – quarterly data (rounded) (migr_eirtn2)
Theese quality statistics are expected to meet the minimum requirements as stated in 2021 EIL Technical guidelines. However, the data availability is affected by the derogations granted to several countries, especially for the statistics on returns of unaccompanied minors. See list of the derogation granted are in the Commission implementing Decision (EU) 2021/431 of 10 March 2021 granting derogations to certain Member States from Regulation (EC) No 862/2007
Annex 4 present the data quality assessment done in June 2021 for the EIL quarterly statistics provided under the new framework refering to the Regulation 2020/851.
21 February 2024
Third country nationals:
Any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 17 (1) of the Treaty, including stateless persons (see Art. 2.1 (i) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007).
Third country nationals refused entry at the external border:
Third country nationals formally refused permission to enter the territory of a Member State (see Art. 2.1 (q) and 5.1(a) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). The external border is defined as in the Schengen Borders Code (Council Regulation (EC) No 562/2006, more details on Article 2.2). For countries which are not in the Schengen area, the external border is the same as the international border. The grounds for refusal refer to the Annex V part B of the Schengen Border Code, which is an administrative document in use in most of the Member States.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period, irrespective of the number of refusals issued to the same person.
Third country nationals found to be illegally present:
Third country nationals who are detected by Member States' authorities and have been determined to be illegally present under national laws relating to immigration (see Art. 2.1 (r) and 5.1(b) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). This category relates to persons who have been found to have entered illegally (for example by avoiding immigration controls or by employing a fraudulent document) and those who may have entered legitimately but have subsequently remained on an illegal basis (for example by overstaying their permission to remain or by taking unauthorised employment).
Only persons who are apprehended or otherwise come to the attention of national immigration authorities are recorded in these statistics. These are not intended to be a measure of the total number of persons who are present in the country on an unauthorised basis.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period.
Third country nationals ordered to leave:
Third country nationals found to be illegally present who are subject to an administrative or judicial decision or act stating that their stay is illegal and imposing an obligation to leave the territory of the Member State (see Art. 7.1 (a) of the Regulation).
These statistics do not include persons who are transferred from one Member State to another under the mechanism established by the Dublin Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 and (EC) No 1560/2003, for these cases see related Dublin Statistics).
Each person is counted only once within the reference period, irrespective of the number of notices issued to the same person.
Third country nationals returned following an order to leave:
Third country nationals who have in fact left the territory of the Member State, following an administrative or judicial decision or act stating that their stay is illegal and imposing an obligation to leave the territory (see Art. 7.1 (b) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 862/2007). On a voluntary basis Member States provide Eurostat with a subcategory which relates to third country nationals returned to a third country only.
Persons who left the territory within the year may have been subject to an obligation to leave in a previous year. As such, the number of persons who actually left the territory may be greater than those who were subject to an obligation to leave in the same year.
Each person is counted only once within the reference period.
Starting with first reference year 2014 new statistics on third country returned were as well collected by Eurostat on voluntary basis. These new statistics are using the following definitions:
Voluntary Return
Voluntary Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national complies voluntarily with the obligation to return (i.e. no enforcement procedure had to be launched) and this departure is confirmed by the information from eg. the border authority or the consulate authorities in the country of origin or other authorities such as IOM or any other organisations implementing a program to assist migrants to return to a third-country. Definition based on Art 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC.
Enforced return
Enforced return, removal refers to the situation in which the third-country national is subject to the enforcement of the obligation to return (the enforcement procedure has been launched). Definition based on Art 3.5 and 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC.
Other concluded return
Other concluded return refers to the situation in which one can reasonably presume that the third country national was returned based on some assumptions (some information are missing and the departure is not confirmed by the information from the border authority).
Assisted Return
Assisted Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national was assisted to return. He/she is the beneficiary of a national or EU MS cooperative program to encourage return and to provide reintegration assistance. The TCN received (i) an in-kind assistance prior to departure (e.g. purchase of plane tickets) and/or (ii) in-cash allowances at the point of departure/upon arrival and/or (iii) an in-kind or in-cash reintegration assistance. Please note that beneficiaries of assisted return programs are mostly TCN who voluntarily return but some may also have been returned by force Definition based on Art 3.8 Directive 115/2008/EC and Asylum and Migration Glossary 2.0.
Non-Assisted Return
Non-Assisted Return refers to the situation in which the third-country national is recorded with departure and he/she does not receive a support and assistance from the national authorities.
Readmission agreement
Readmission agreement refers to the situation where an international agreement exists between the reporting country and the country of return (of the third country national returned) under which the readmission procedure is set out.
Transit country
Transit country refers to the country that is considered intermediary destination of the TCN returned on the way to the country of Citizenship
Unaccompanied minors
Unaccompanied minor” means an unaccompanied minor as defined in article 2 of Directive 2011/95/EU:
‘minor’ means a third-country national or stateless person below the age of 18 years; article 2(k);
(l) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a minor who arrives on the territory of the Member States unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him or her whether by law or by the practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as he or she is not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it includes a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the territory of the Member States;” article 2(l)
Each table refers to the number of persons, not to the number of administrative decisions or acts.
Please see point 3.4 "Concepts and definitions".
EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Calendar year.
The accuracy of the data collected under Articles 5 and 7 of the Regulation depends on the accuracy and efficiency of the underlying administrative systems. The widespread redevelopment of administrative systems had a strongly positive impact on the accuracy of the statistical data.
Units of measure are absolute numbers of persons.
List of EU aggregates used in EIL statistics:
• EU28 aggregate refers to European Union before the Brexit. This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK
• EU27_2020 aggregate refers to European Union (27 countries without the United Kingdom). This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE
• EU27 aggregate refers to European Union (before the accession of Croatia). This aggregate covers following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK
EU aggregates are calculated by Eurostat only if all the countries have available data.
Administrative data sources only. Data are compiled from the administrative records of the national authorities, mainly the Ministries of Interior or Immigration Agencies
Annual and quarterly data.
Data should be supplied to Eurostat no later than 3 months after the end of the reference period for annual data collection and no later than 2 months after the end of the reference period for quarterly statistics.
Due to the recent implementation of the enforcement of immigration legislation data collection, some methodological and administrative differences still exist between the Member States. Some countries are in the process of harmonisation with the definitions, reducing conceptual disparities and changing data availability and completeness status for some categories of data. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the countries please see the methodological annexes concerning the level of compliance with definitions and data completeness.
The national framework has an important impact on the resulted figures (the data comparability between the Member States is limited due to the national specific rules and procedures).
The enforcement of immigration legislation statistics should be compiled based on same methodology and the outputs should be comparable between years. Due to the ongoing methodological improvements which may occur at different reference periods, Member States may apply different rules for the same years, for some categories of data. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the years please see the methodological annexes.
In 2020, some 137 800 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its external borders, down 79% compared with 670 800 in the previous year. This can be explained by the closing of the borders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the 21 EU Member States where the number of refusals decreased between 2019 and 2020, by far the largest fall was observed in Spain, from 493 500 in 2019 to 3 500 in 2020. This drop concerned almost entirely citizens of Morocco, as the number of Moroccans refused entry into Spain fell from 484 800 in 2019 to 500 in 2020.
