MADRID, Spain — The Spanish government failed to execute more than 48,000 deportation orders in 2025, exposing a chronic inefficacy within the national immigration return system, according to definitive data published by Eurostat. The statistics reveal a significant shortfall in the state’s ability to enforce the removal of undocumented migrants, leaving tens of thousands of individuals with final expulsion orders remaining on Spanish territory.
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Throughout the year, Spanish authorities issued approximately 54,000 exit orders to third-country nationals but only managed to carry out around 5,700 effective returns. This places the country’s execution rate at a mere 10.6 percent, one of the lowest in the European Union and nearly identical to the figures recorded in France. While the broader European average reached 27.5 percent—marking a significant increase from the previous year—Spain remains at the bottom of the bloc, with only one in ten deportation orders resulting in a verified departure.
The disparity between Spain and other member states is stark. Germany, for instance, successfully executed 29,295 returns, achieving an approximate rate of 53 percent. This performance is more than double the European average and nearly five times higher than Spain’s. While Berlin demonstrates that effective expulsions are possible with the right administrative framework, Madrid and Paris are left accumulating thousands of unenforced legal orders that effectively remain on paper. This asymmetry is not merely a statistical anomaly but a reflection of differing administrative practices and, most crucially, the inability to execute decisions when countries of origin refuse to cooperate.
El Gobierno de Sánchez dejó sin ejecutar en 2025 más de 48.000 órdenes de expulsión de inmigrantes ilegales https://t.co/ECjOQ6sJiT vía @gaceta_es
— Paqui Chao (@PaquiChao) June 10, 2026
The primary obstacle to Spain’s deportation efforts is the systemic lack of collaboration from the migrants’ home nations. In 2024, the highest number of exit orders were issued to Algerian and Moroccan nationals, totaling 37,465 and 31,555 respectively. However, both North African nations are virtually absent from the 2025 statistics for effective returns. In contrast, countries with established readmission agreements and diplomatic leverage, such as Turkey, Georgia, Albania, and nations in the Western Balkans, dominate the lists of actual expulsions. The glaring gap between orders issued and returns executed for Algerians and Moroccans underscores a profound diplomatic impasse that continues to paralyze the Spanish return system.
The European Union possesses a mechanism within the Visa Code designed to pressure uncooperative third countries, including nations like Bangladesh, Iraq, Gambia, Guinea, and Algeria. However, the application of this diplomatic lever has remained tepid and largely ineffective, contributing to the massive backlog of unfulfilled orders under the current administration.
Looking ahead, authorities are pinning their hopes on the new Return Regulation approved in March. This updated framework introduces a European return order, mutual recognition of decisions, and allows for the detention of individuals for up to 24 months. Combined with a potentially more aggressive use of visa restrictions, these measures aim to address the systemic weaknesses in the current protocol. The actual efficacy of these new tools will ultimately determine whether Spain can overcome its diplomatic hurdles and escape the bottom tier of European immigration enforcement.
