Greece reported a 20% increase in migrant returns

Greece reported on increase in migrant returns by 20% for the first half of 2026. At the same time, illegal maritime arrivals decreased by 27%.

Greece reported a noticeable increase in migrant returns and a new decline in illegal maritime arrivals in the first half of 2026. The Ministry of Migration and Asylum attributes this to stricter return policies and cooperation with countries of origin.

According to ministerial sources cited by the state agency ΑΜΝΑ and retold Keep Talking Greecethe total number of migrant returns in January–June increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, illegal arrivals by sea decreased by 27%: from 16,985 to 12,496 people.

These data became the government’s first major statistical argument after the adoption of tougher migration reform. Athens News previously detailed how the new law speeds up the deportations of foreigners who have been permanently rejected for asylum, increases administrative detention and opens the way to so-called return centers outside EU. Migration reform in Greece: what is actually changing.

Deportations increased, arrivals decreased

The main increase came from forced deportations. Their number increased by 41%: from 915 in the first half of 2025 to 1 292 in January–June 2026.

Voluntary returns through the International Organization for Migration also increased: from 740 to 870. Independent trips at your own expense, on the contrary, decreased slightly: from 488 to 468.

In total, according to Greek City Timesin the first six months of 2026 were returned from Greece 2,638 people versus 2,207 a year earlier. This is what migration policy looks like in its dry form: not slogans on the podium, but boring numbers, which are then used as a cudgel in parliament.

The decline in maritime arrivals continues a broader trend. Ministerial sources indicate that in 2025 there was already a drop in illegal maritime arrivals of about 25%, and in the first half of 2026 the decline continued.

Egypt and Pakistan: selected indicators

The government separately highlights changes for citizens of Egypt and Pakistan. Arrivals of Egyptian citizens, according to the ministry, decreased by 72%: from approximately 2,800 to 800 people. At the same time, the returns of Egyptians almost quadrupled – from 59 to 227.

For Pakistani citizens, the figures were almost equal: over the same period, 180 arrivals And 169 returns. For Athens, this is a convenient indicator: the authorities can claim that the system is no longer a “funnel” where people enter but almost never leave.

The ministry attributes these shifts to increased cooperation with countries of origin. This is a key element in migration policy: deportation is worthless on paper if the country of origin does not accept its citizen back or delays the paperwork. Officials discovered that the plane with the deportees had to land somewhere. A breakthrough in administrative thought, of course.

“Prison or Return”

A separate block concerns the policy, which the Minister of Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris formulates as “jail or return”. According to the ministry, from February to July 599 illegal migrants chose to voluntarily return to their country of origin to avoid serving a prison sentence.

Pleuris previously said in parliament that foreigners who entered the country illegally do not have the right to remain in Greece after the final refusal of asylum and must be returned to their countries of origin.

Reuters previously reported that the Greek Parliament approved a law to speed up returns and create legal possibility for “return centers” outside the EU after concluding agreements with third countries. This is part of a broader European trend, where states are trying to make the refusal of asylum not a formal piece of paper, but a real exit.

Crete remains a weak point

However, general statistics do not eliminate the pressure on individual routes. The Athens News reported that Crete and Gavdos were once again at the forefront of the migration flow from Libya in 2026, with boats carrying hundreds of people arriving within days and almost continuous operations by the coast guard and Frontex. Hundreds of people per day: Crete is again at the forefront of the flow of migrants.

Against this backdrop, protests broke out against the new migrant center in Karteros. Local residents and businesses fear that the temporary facility will eventually become a permanent closed structure, leaving all the problems associated with it to the island. Crete protests against new migrant camp.

This is where government statistics collide with local reality. In Athens, we can talk about a decrease in overall arrivals and an increase in returns. But if a given island receives hundreds of people in a few days, its residents see not a percentage change, but overcrowded temporary accommodations, additional costs and a dispute over who should house the arrivals.

What does it mean

A 20% rise in returns and a 27% fall in maritime arrivals gives the government the argument that a new hard line is starting to work. Particularly indicative is the 41% increase in forced deportations and the almost equal balance of arrivals and returns across Pakistan.

But these numbers do not yet mean that the migration problem has been solved. Greece will have to prove that returns will increase not only in the first months of the political campaign, but systematically: through agreements with countries of origin, Frontex, real documents, flights, legal sustainability of decisions and control of new routes.

The main test will be simple: whether the state can ensure that the final refusal of asylum actually leads to departure, and not to many years of stay in a gray zone. So far the ministry is showing good numbers for itself. But migration is not an accounting spreadsheet, but a system where smugglers, countries of origin, courts, islands and European politics make adjustments every day. As usual, reality blatantly refuses to be a line item in the report.

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