Published: 22 July 2026 | Reporting period: 15–22 July 2026
Immigration developments across the European Union this week were dominated by protection for Ukrainian refugees, plans for deportation centres outside Europe, implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and stricter controls on foreign workers.
Although there were not separate immigration-law announcements in every EU member state, several EU-wide decisions affect countries throughout the bloc. Important national developments were also reported in Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
No major EU-wide changes to ordinary work visas, permanent residence, family reunification, citizenship or freedom-of-movement rules were announced during the reporting period.
EU agrees to extend protection for Ukrainians until March 2028
The most significant EU-wide development was an agreement between member states to extend temporary protection for people displaced by the war in Ukraine until 4 March 2028.
Temporary protection gives eligible Ukrainians the right to:
- Reside legally in an EU country
- Work without going through the normal employment-visa process
- Receive medical assistance
- Access housing and social-welfare support
- Enrol children in education
Approximately 4.38 million people displaced from Ukraine were receiving temporary protection in the EU as of 31 May 2026.
However, the latest agreement includes an important restriction for new applicants. People applying for temporary protection in the future may be required to demonstrate that they complied with, or were exempt from, their Ukrainian military obligations.
Acceptable evidence could include a passport showing that the person left Ukraine legally or an official document confirming an exemption.
The new requirement will apply only to new applicants. It will not affect Ukrainians who already hold temporary protection in an EU country.
The extension has been politically agreed but must still be formally adopted by the Council and published in the EU Official Journal before it takes legal effect.
EU reviews implementation of its new asylum rules
The European Commission has published its first assessment of the asylum-responsibility rules introduced under the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
The Pact entered into application on 12 June 2026. It introduced common procedures for screening irregular arrivals, registering asylum seekers, determining which country must consider an application and transferring applicants between member states.
The Commission’s assessment concentrated on Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain—countries considered to be under particular migratory pressure.
| Country | Commission’s assessment |
| Cyprus | Operational cooperation considered adequate |
| Spain | Operational cooperation considered adequate |
| Greece | Authorities have started correcting previous practices |
| Italy | Significant implementation and preparation efforts reported |
The Commission nevertheless said further concrete measures were needed to ensure that responsibility transfers actually take place.
This was an assessment of existing rules rather than the introduction of another new immigration law. The Commission expects to conduct its next review in October 2026.
Five countries warned over offshore migrant “return hubs”
Plans to establish migrant return centres outside the European Union remain one of Europe’s most controversial immigration developments.
The Netherlands is working with Austria, Denmark, Germany and Greece on possible joint return or transit hubs in third countries. These facilities could accommodate rejected asylum seekers and other foreign nationals who have been ordered to leave the EU.
The Netherlands reportedly wants concrete progress on the plan before the end of 2026.
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights has warned the five governments that such centres could create serious risks, including:
- Arbitrary or prolonged detention
- Ill-treatment in third countries
- Insufficient access to lawyers and courts
- Removal to unsafe countries
- Weak parliamentary and public oversight
The Commissioner recommended comprehensive risk assessments, legally binding human-rights protections, independent monitoring and judicial scrutiny.
Return hubs are not yet operational. Their locations, management arrangements and applicable legal protections have not been finalised.
EU asylum applications fall by 11%
New Eurostat figures published on 16 July showed that 42,960 non-EU citizens submitted first-time asylum applications in April 2026.
This represented:
- An 11% fall compared with April 2025
- A 9% fall compared with March 2026
- An EU average of 9.5 applications per 100,000 residents
An additional 9,145 people submitted subsequent applications.
Italy, France, Spain and Germany together received 76% of all first-time asylum applications in the EU.
| Country | First-time applications in April 2026 |
| Italy | 9,710 |
| France | 8,645 |
| Spain | 8,350 |
| Germany | 6,140 |
Venezuelans were the largest group of first-time applicants, followed by people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sudan.
When measured relative to population, Greece recorded the highest application rate, followed by Luxembourg and Ireland.
| Country | Applicants per 100,000 residents |
| Greece | 26.1 |
| Luxembourg | 20.6 |
| Ireland | 18.7 |
These are April figures published during the latest reporting week; they should not be interpreted as the number of applications submitted during 15–22 July.
Latvia strengthens its response at the Belarus border
Tensions intensified at Latvia’s border with Belarus after Latvian soldiers used tear gas and fired a warning shot during an attempted irregular crossing.
According to Latvia’s military, a group of at least five people behaved aggressively and threw logs towards soldiers. The group returned to Belarus after the warning shot was fired.
Latvia’s government says the number of attempted border crossings has recently doubled. It has responded by doubling the number of border guards deployed in the affected area.
Estonian and Lithuanian border officers are also supporting Latvian operations.
Latvia, Lithuania and Poland accuse Belarus and Russia of deliberately facilitating migrant movements to destabilise the EU and NATO’s eastern frontier. Belarus and Russia deny those allegations.
Poland maintains tighter controls on non-EU workers
Poland continues to restrict labour migration from outside the European Union.
The Polish government reduced the number of work permits issued to non-EU nationals by 22% during 2025. It also reported issuing substantially fewer work visas during the first quarter of 2026 than during the equivalent period in 2022, although changes affecting Ukrainians partly influenced that comparison.
Employers say the restrictions and processing delays are making recruitment increasingly difficult.
Reported waiting times include:
- More than six months for some work permits
- Almost one year for temporary residence applications
- Longer delays for employers attempting to retain skilled workers
The latest reporting does not identify a completely new Polish immigration law introduced during this week. Instead, it confirms that the government’s restrictive approach to non-EU employment remains in place.
Hungary restricts guest-worker visas
Hungary has stopped issuing worker visas to nationals of the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia.
The restriction was introduced in June but received renewed attention this week following complaints from Hungarian employers.
Businesses argue that foreign employees are essential because Hungary’s ageing population and labour shortages make it difficult to fill certain positions locally.
The government maintains that businesses should offer higher wages and recruit Hungarian workers before relying on non-EU labour.
The restrictions could particularly affect manufacturing, agriculture, food processing and other industries that have increasingly relied on guest workers.
Country-by-country EU immigration update
| EU country | Latest position during the reporting period |
| Austria | Participating in return-hub discussions; received a Council of Europe human-rights warning |
| Belgium | No separate major national immigration announcement identified |
| Bulgaria | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Croatia | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Cyprus | Commission considered implementation of asylum-responsibility cooperation adequate |
| Czechia | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Denmark | Participating in return-hub discussions; received a human-rights warning |
| Estonia | Assisting Latvia with Belarus-border operations |
| Finland | No new measure identified this week; the eastern border remains closed under existing policy |
| France | Recorded the EU’s second-highest number of first-time asylum applications in April |
| Germany | Participating in return-hub discussions; recorded 6,140 first-time asylum applications |
| Greece | Participating in return-hub plans; recorded the EU’s highest asylum rate relative to population |
| Hungary | Restrictions on selected non-EU guest-worker nationalities remain in effect |
| Ireland | No separate new rule identified; recorded the third-highest asylum rate per capita |
| Italy | Recorded the most first-time asylum applications; Commission reported implementation progress |
| Latvia | Increased Belarus-border enforcement following a serious crossing incident |
| Lithuania | Providing border officers to support Latvia |
| Luxembourg | Recorded the second-highest asylum-application rate relative to population |
| Malta | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Netherlands | Leading work on joint third-country return hubs |
| Poland | Continuing tighter controls and slower processing for non-EU workers |
| Portugal | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Romania | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Slovakia | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Slovenia | No separate major national announcement identified |
| Spain | Commission considered asylum cooperation adequate; recorded 8,350 first-time applications |
| Sweden | No separate major national announcement identified during the period |
What has not changed?
No major EU-wide changes were identified this week concerning:
- Skilled-worker or employment-visa eligibility
- EU Blue Card requirements
- Family-reunification rules
- Permanent residence
- Citizenship or naturalisation
- Rights of EU citizens to move between member states
- Schengen short-stay visa eligibility
Individual EU countries continue to operate their own legal migration, residence and citizenship systems. National administrative changes may therefore occur without forming part of a wider EU immigration reform.
Conclusion
The direction of EU immigration policy remains increasingly focused on enforcement, faster asylum processing and more effective returns.
The most important development for migrants already living in Europe is the proposed extension of temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 2028. For asylum seekers, the implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact and the development of third-country return hubs could have much wider long-term consequences.
Meanwhile, Poland and Hungary are demonstrating a more restrictive approach to non-EU employment, even as employers warn that tighter controls could worsen labour shortages.
Overall, the latest developments show an EU attempting to reduce irregular migration and accelerate deportations while continuing protection for Ukrainians and maintaining more limited legal routes for workers and other lawful migrants.