Moroccan Migrants Among Top Nationalities Facing EU Deportation

In 2023, Morocco accepted just 8% of the return decisions issued by EU countries for Moroccan nationals.

Rabat – Migrants from Morocco were among the top three nationalities subject to deportation orders issued by European Union countries in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the latest Eurostat data.

EU member states issued nearly 125,000 expulsion orders against migrants who entered the bloc illegally during that period. But only 28,630 of these orders were executed, representing a 24.3% increase in returns compared to the same quarter in 2023.

These figures are part of a broader trend, with deportations up 3.3% and expulsion orders rising by 11.5% from the previous quarter.

Algerian migrants faced the most deportation orders with 11,362 issued, followed by Syrians (8,674) and Moroccans (8,561).

In terms of actual deportations, the highest numbers involved migrants from Georgia (3,351), Turkey (2,492), and Albania (1,982).

A restricted report from the European Commission, obtained by the organization Statewatch, suggests that Morocco has one of the lowest cooperation rates in accepting the return of its citizens who entered the EU irregularly.

The study, which analyzed the cooperation of 34 countries on deportations, found that Morocco accepted only 8% of the return decisions issued by EU states in 2023 for Moroccan nationals.

Read also: EU Commission: Morocco Accepted Only 8% of Irregular Migrants Back in 2023

This low acceptance rate is particularly notable considering Morocco had the highest number of citizens irregularly crossing into Europe among African countries, according to the Spanish newspaper El País, which reported on the study’s findings.

EU countries ordered 35,065 Moroccan nationals to leave their territory in 2023, but only 2,760 were actually deported back to Morocco.

France led the way among EU countries with the highest number of deportation orders, totaling 31,880. Spain and Germany followed with 18,645 and 15,135 orders, respectively.

The countries with the most expulsions were Germany, with 6,170 migrants returned to a third country, France with 3,705, and Sweden with 2,600.