WARSAW, POLAND / RankWire.AI / – Frontex facilitated the removal of more than 33,000 individuals from European Union member states to countries outside the EU during the first half of 2026. This figure surpasses the approximately 30,000 returns that were documented during the same period in 2025. Around 21,000 of those returnees chose to go back voluntarily, representing an increase from roughly 19,000 a year earlier. These latest statistics bring the total number of Frontex-supported returns since 2022 to approximately 215,000 people.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency plays a key role by assisting national governments once authorities issue binding return orders, which are enforced after individuals have exhausted all legal options to stay in the EU. Each departure is determined by national authorities to be either voluntary or enforced, with Frontex providing operational aid in eligible cases. This support can encompass case management, coordination of travel, assistance with travel documents, and logistical help during departures from participating member states.
Germany, France, Cyprus, Belgium, and Sweden recorded the highest number of Frontex-backed returns from January through June. The majority of returnees held citizenship from Türkiye, Syria, Georgia, Colombia, India, Brazil, Albania, Morocco, Nigeria, and Iraq. During this six-month period, Frontex assigned 109 Return Specialists across 15 member states and deployed 118 Return Escort and Support Officers in 11 countries to assist national authorities with departure procedures and related logistics.
Voluntary Returns Continue to Outnumber Enforced Ones
Reintegration support provided by the EU also saw a significant rise in the first half of the year, with nearly 14,000 individuals registering for assistance compared to about 8,000 during the same period in 2025. The majority of those participants—over four in five—returned voluntarily. The available reintegration services include vocational training, counseling, and grants aimed at small business development, with member states able to register eligible returnees for aid even when Frontex did not directly support their journey home.
Return Specialists collaborate closely with national agencies to handle individual cases, providing explanations about available return and reintegration services, and helping obtain identity and travel documents from countries of origin. Some departures are accompanied by Return Escort and Support Officers, who manage practical needs at airports and during flights. These deployments are part of Frontex’s broader return initiatives across the EU, with the agency maintaining a clear distinction between operational return support and wider reintegration registrations.
Progress in EU Return Policies Seen in 2026
These recent figures coincide with ongoing efforts by the European Union to establish a unified legal framework for returns. Negotiators reached a provisional agreement on new rules on June 1, and on June 17, the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position with a vote of 418 in favor, 218 against, and 30 abstentions. The framework targets third-country nationals who lack a legal right to remain within the EU and introduces a European Return Order to facilitate recognition of return decisions across member states.
The agreed framework also envisions the creation of return hubs in non-EU countries, which must adhere to international law and human rights standards, although unaccompanied minors cannot be transferred to such hubs under the current text. Specific measures are included for individuals identified as security threats, and mutual recognition of return decisions remains voluntary at this stage. Against this policy background, Frontex recorded an increase in supported returns during the early months of 2026, while voluntary departures still constitute the majority of cases.