Police and Border Guard Board

Estonian Police and Border Guard Board analysis unit. 

Estonia. Pärnu mnt 139, Tallinn.

Enforcement of immigration legislation data (EIL statistics) contain statistical information based on Article 5 and 7 of the Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 as amended by the Regulation (EU) 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.

See table 3.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

Migration and asylum – Enforcement of Immigration Legislation statistics

See table 3.4. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

Each table refers to the number of persons, not to the number of administrative decisions or acts.

See table 3.6. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

See table 3.8. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

Not applicable.

Number of persons.

Calendar quarter and calendar year.

This metadata information is provided by the authorities of Estonia to ensure compliance with the requirement of 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.

As required on Article 9 of regulation 862/2007 Member State (inc. Estonia) must report to Eurostat on the data sources used, the reasons for the selection of the sources and the effect of the selected data of the quality of the statistics. Member States (inc Estonia) shall provide Eurostat with all the information necessary to evaluate the quality, comparability and completeness of the statistical information.

There are no separate data sharing agreements at the national level. The principles of data sharing are regulated by internal agreements and documents. General data protection principles are located here Personal Data Protection Act https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/507112023002/consolide

On our national level, statistic on concerning border crossings (including illegal border crossings) and returns is shared internally with relevant ministeries, organizations etc. On European level, the data is shared with Frontex. 

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.

The personal data of third-country nationals (including illegaly staying third country nationals) is processed and used for the purpose of conducting the  procedure for Persoanl Data Protection Act, Aliens Act (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/530042024001/consolide) and Obligation to Leave and Prohibition on Entry Act (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/508012024007/consolide). Police and Border Guard Board employees must follow the principles of confidentiality when processing third country national person´s personal data. Procedural rules, obliged for every user who process the personal data, are set up to define actions and rules for access and protection of personal data. Internal rules and guidelines have been established on how to handle personal data. 

Not applicable.

Data is disseminated quarterly and  yearly through Eurostat online databases.

The dissemination of the annual statistics is mainly in March of each year for the previous reference year, depending on the data availability. Quaterly statistics is disseminated four times a year. through Eurostat online databases. In Police and Border Guard open data, we display the data of border crossings.

Not applicable.

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. 

Annual and quarterly data.

News releases on-line.

Not available. 

Not available. 

Not available. 

Not applicable.

Not available. 

Not available. 

Not applicable.

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not available.

Compilation of data is following the guidelines and instructions provided by Eurostat. Consistency validation checks are performed. 

Good quality. 

The statistics collected under the Regulation 862/2007 are widely used in official publications and by a wide range of users at national, European and International level.

Users of Eurostat EIL statistics area

• various policy DG-s in European Commission, like DG Migration and Home Affairs for designing, funding and implementing return policies in EU,
• European Parliament,
• national authorities (Ministries of Interior, Ministries of Justice, immigration agencies), who use EIL statistics to monitor trend of illegal immigration and return,
• European Migration Network (EMN), which uses the data as basis for its annual EU and national level statistical and analytical reports,
• researcher and students conducting analysis and research in the field of migration
• journalists and international organizations in the area of migration

Not available information.

See table 12.3. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’. 

Not applicable. 

The overall assessment of the accuracy of the data collection is considered to be high.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The first data can be reported in 30 days at earliest after  the end of the reference period. Data should be reported 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.

Estonia. There are no time lags and data is reported on time. 

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See table 14.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’. 

Not applicable.

No problems.

Not applicable.

See table 15.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

Not applicable.

See table 15.3. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’. NB! There are some differences between Eurostat and Frontex return data, the main reason is the difference in time reporting (to Frontex once a month, to Eurostat once in a quarter and once a year). The number of returns changes, depending how many thrid country nationals have accualy left at reporting period.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

No problems.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See table 17.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’.

Not applicable.

See table 18.1. in annex ‘Quality report tables EIL 2023’. 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.

The statistics presented in this volume were collected by national authorities and supplied to Eurostat in XLS format (EXCEL worksheeet). Data ise collected by Police and Border Guard Board from database on monthly bases (presented once a year and also quaterly bases).

The source data are checked and validated before compiling the aggregates output statistics sent to Eurostat.

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”.

Data is based on Regulation (EC) No 862/2007. The collected data is concerted into statistical output. Estimation is not used. 

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

No statistical technique applied.