France and Spain Enforce Just 1 in 10 Deportations as Over Two-Thirds of Expulsion Orders Go Ignored Across Europe

Spain, France, and the Netherlands are the worst performers in the European Union when it comes to enforcing the deportation orders of foreign nationals with no right to reside in the bloc, according to the latest Eurostat data for 2025.

Full data sets for all quarters of last year have now been published by the European Union’s statistics agency, which show that there are more than three times the number of third-country nationals ordered to leave the bloc than there are actual returns of those handed expulsion orders.

Across the European Union, a total of 492,175 third-country nationals were ordered to leave EU territory last year, but only 152,610 deportation orders were actually enforced. This equates to an overall enforcement rate of roughly 31 percent.

Those issued with a deportation order in 2025 and those returned are most likely different people, with deportation proceedings often taking years to enforce. The data, however, still exposes the reality that, each year, there are far more illegal migrants being told to leave than are actually being removed.

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The highest performers with regard to enforcement rates could be found in Malta (97 percent) and Slovakia (89 percent), while several Baltic nations also posted strong returns compared to orders issued. Lithuania had an enforcement rate of 87 percent, Estonia 82 percent, and Sweden returned 76 percent of those issued, with a deportation order.

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