Filenews 20 May 2022
A total of 139,000 third-country nationals were prevented in 2021 from crossing into European Union territory and 681,200 people were found to be illegally in one of the EU Member States in the same year, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, on the implementation of immigration law.
Also in the same year, 342,100 people were ordered to leave an EU Member State, of which 82,700 were returned to other countries (among them other EU Member States).
In the case of Cyprus, in 2021 the authorities refused entry to 440 third-country nationals compared to 360 in 2020. Also, 11,175 people were found to be illegally in Cyprus (compared to 6,215 in 2020).
In 2021, a total of 15,745 people were ordered to leave the country, and a total of 1,875 people were returned to another country inside or outside the EU (no data for 2020 available).
Ukrainians most blocked in 2021
In particular, the number of third-country nationals prevented from entering the EU at the external borders increased by 1%, from 137,800 people last year to 139,000 this year.
The countries that stopped most third-country nationals from entering the EU through their borders in 2021 were Hungary (34,700), Poland (26,200), Croatia (14,200) and Romania (11,000).
Most of the migrants prevented from crossing into the EU in 2021 were Ukrainians (50,200), followed by Albanians (18,600) and Moldovans (9,100).
Increase in third-country nationals identified as living illegally in the EU
In 2021, there was an increase of 22% of third-country nationals found to be illegally present in an EU Member State, from 557,500 in 2020 to 681,200 last year.
The largest number of third-country nationals found to be in the EU illegally in 2021 were found in France (215,200), Hungary (134,100) and Germany (120,300).
Most of the people in this category in 2021 were citizens of Syria (79,800), Algeria (56,800) and Afghanistan (52,800).
France first in orders to citizens of third countries to leave
In 2021, there was a 14% drop in the number of people mandated to leave EU Member States, from 396,400 in 2020 to 342,100 last year.
The countries that mandated most third-country nationals to leave their territory in 2021 were France (125,500), Germany (31,500) and Greece (28,800).
The countries with the highest number of citizens ordered to leave an EU Member State were Algeria (26,400), Albania (22,000) and Morocco (21,800).
82,700 citizens of third countries were returned to other countries
Finally, in 2021, a total of 82,700 third-country nationals were returned to another Member State or a third country, following an order to leave the Member State in which they were located.
The highest number of returns was recorded in France (14,400), Germany (10,300) and Sweden (9,300).
The nationalities with the most returns were Ukrainians and Albanians (9,400 for each nationality), Georgians (5,400) and Pakistanis (3,200).
