How has the implementation of immigration law in the EU evolved during 2024/ Here are how many Albanians were refused entry

Over 120,000 non-EU nationals were refused entry in 2024, a number that has barely budged since the pandemic, while voluntary and forced returns have increased by 20%.

According to the latest Eurostat figures, the number of citizens found illegally present in EU countries in 2024 decreased by 27.4%.

Germany, France and Italy together represented more than half of all third-country nationals found illegally present in the EU last year.

Nearly 57% of the rejections occurred at land crossings, mainly at the Polish, Croatian and Romanian borders.

Air borders handled 39.8% of rejected passengers, with France alone turning back 7,800 people.

Meanwhile, only 3.4% of total refusals were at sea borders. Italy reported the highest number of refusals at EU sea borders, followed by France.

The largest number of people who were refused entry to the EU in 2024 was recorded for Ukrainians, Albanians and Moldovans.

Ukrainian citizens who were refused entry to the EU mainly tried to cross the land borders with Poland and Romania. These individuals did not benefit from temporary protection.

Most Albanian citizens were denied entry at the Greek, Croatian, Hungarian and Lithuanian land borders, or at the Italian air and sea borders.

Meanwhile, most Moldovans were denied entry at the Romanian, Polish, and Latvian land borders.

Almost 50% of entry refusals were explained by unjustified purpose or conditions of stay, and lack of a valid visa or residence permit.

Returns of third-country nationals

The number of returned third-country nationals increased by 19.3%, compared to the previous year.

Georgian citizens were subject to the highest number of returns to the EU, with 11,585 of them returned to a third country.

They were followed by Turks (7,910), Albanians (7,810) and Moldovans (4,970).

53.8% of returns to third countries were voluntary, while 46.2% were forced.

In Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and the Czech Republic, more than 90% of third-country nationals returned voluntarily. Only Italy reported all returns as forced returns./ Euronews.