Eurostat figures show a small rise in departure orders locally, while across the EU, fewer people were ordered to leave and more were returned.
Cyprus issued 3,385 orders for non-EU citizens to leave in the second quarter of 2026. But there is an important distinction behind that number: an order to leave does not mean someone has actually left.
The total was up slightly from 3,355 in the first three months of the year, an increase of 30 orders, according to figures published by Eurostat on Wednesday.
Across the European Union, the trend was different. Authorities issued 110,335 departure orders in the second quarter, down 12% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, 36,825 non-EU citizens were returned to countries outside the bloc following an order, an increase of 9.7%.
Compared with the first quarter of 2026, EU departure orders fell 3.9%, while returns rose 5.9%.
Put simply, fewer people were being told to leave across the EU, while more returns were taking place.
Still, the two totals cannot be used to calculate how many people obeyed an order issued during those three months. Someone who returned in the second quarter may have received their departure order earlier.
For readers here, the missing piece is the local return figure. The data provided show how many departure orders Cyprus issued, but not how many people were subsequently returned.
That matters in a debate often dominated by big numbers. Departure orders show an administrative decision; completed returns show what happened afterward. Understanding both is necessary to assess how migration policy is working in practice.
