An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report
Luxembourg’s increase far exceeds the EU average as Europe tightens migration enforcement. The Grand Duchy ordered 405 non-EU citizens to leave the country in the second quarter of 2025, according to a report by Luxembourg Times citing Eurostat data. The figure represents a 30.6% increase compared with the same quarter of 2024, when 310 people were ordered to leave, and a 26.6% rise from Q1 2025, which saw 320 such decisions. It marks the highest quarterly number of return orders recorded in Luxembourg since at least 2022, reflecting a pace of enforcement that significantly exceeds the European average.
Across the European Union, 116,495 third-country nationals were ordered to leave in Q2 2025, up 3.6% year on year, while 28,355 individuals were actually returned to their countries of origin, a 12.7% increase over 2024. In comparison, Luxembourg’s rate of increase stands out sharply, signalling how even smaller EU members are tightening migration controls amid growing political and social pressures.
EU-wide trends
While Luxembourg’s growth rate was striking, EU-level data show that the majority of return orders remain concentrated in a handful of member states. France (34,760 orders), Spain (14,545), and Germany (14,095) together accounted for more than half of all return orders issued across the bloc in Q2 2025. On the returns side, France (3,685), Germany (3,445), and Sweden (2,865) led the EU, making up roughly 35% of total enforced returns.
Who is being returned?
The top nationalities subject to return orders during the same period were Georgians (2,460), Turks (2,020), Albanians (1,945), Moldovans (1,210), and Syrians (1,140). Over half (53.7%) of these departures were voluntary, while 46.3% were forced, and 75.4% were officially assisted by governments or agencies.
Luxembourg in perspective
Although the Luxembourg-specific figure (405) is not yet listed in Eurostat’s public country tables, it aligns with broader Schengen trends. While EU-wide return orders fell to 453,380 in 2024 (down 7.3% from the year before), actual returns increased 19.3% to 110,385. Luxembourg’s apparent surge therefore runs counter to the wider European pattern, underscoring how national enforcement dynamics can diverge even within an increasingly coordinated EU migration framework.
