It is not surprising that citizens of Russia ranked third in the ranking of countries in terms of the number of refusals to enter the EU countries according to the results of 2022. The first two positions are held by citizens of European countries. Such data were published by the European Bureau of Statistics (Eurostat).
In 2022, the total number of non-EU citizens who were denied entry to the EU reached 141,060. The leaders were citizens of Ukraine, they accounted for almost 21% (28,890) of all bans. The second and third national groups on the list are Albanians and Russians: 15,630 and 10,860 refusals, respectively. In total, three states accounted for 40% of the total number of negative decisions registered last year.
Some of the most common reasons for not being able to enter the EU included security risks: potential threats to public order and health, in addition to changes in international relations and internal security.
For example, last year the Baltic states announced the termination of refugee status to Russian citizens who allegedly “escaped” from mobilization. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu, previously noted, the reluctance to fulfill one’s civic duty in Russia does not provide sufficient grounds for seeking protection in Estonia or any other country. Latvia has also indicated for security reasons that it will stop issuing humanitarian or other types of visas to citizens of Russia.
The main reasons for banning Ukrainians from crossing the border were overstaying in the Schengen zone, lack of a valid visa or residence permit (48%), as well as the lack of a valid purpose and conditions for staying in the zone (20%). Just like last year, Ukrainian citizens, as well as Albanians, can still be refused entry to the EU.
For comparison: last year, Ukrainians (1st place), Algerians (2nd place), and Albanians (3rd place) made it to the top three nationalities with the largest number of admissions and this year, Albanians moved up one position, and Russians broke into the top three of the list.
Which countries most often issued a negative decision on entry?
The following were the countries with the largest number of refusals registered during 2022:
- Poland – 23,330
- Hungary – 15,780
- Croatia – 11,800
- Ireland – 9,240
This quartet accounted for 42% of all negative decisions, which amounted to 60,150 bans.
In 2022, the number of citizens who are not members of the European Union and were refused entry to the zone increased by 1% compared to the previous year, reaching 140,390 people. Illegal residence in the EU zone was detected in 1.08 million people. In addition, of the 96,795 foreigners who were ordered to leave the European Union, 77,530 were deported, presumably to their homeland. Another 422,400 people received a decision to leave the EU zone.