The European Commission is expected to propose legislation on 28 October 2026 to digitalise the EU’s deportation system, a plan Statewatch first reported. It would build on the Return Regulation, which entered into force on 16 October 2026, and cover the handling of returns of third-country nationals with no right to stay in the bloc.
The planned legislation would focus on information-sharing and case management. Its stated aims include reducing fragmented national systems, lengthy procedures and administrative workloads. Those are goals, not demonstrated results.
At a 14 July European Parliament committee exchange, Mr. Nielsen, the Commission’s Director for International Affairs, Returns and Visa, said officials planned to present legislation by September 2026. He described goals of connecting IT systems and automating processes. The current expected proposal date is 28 October.
Frontex Executive Director Mr. Leijtens said the agency supports member states’ digital work through its Return Case Management System reference model, known as RECAMAS. Committee members raised data protection, cybersecurity, technical and financial resources, existing systems, the role of EU agencies and the reform’s expected impact.
The options range from linking national systems to a new database
A study by EY and RAND Europe, commissioned by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), sets out three possible approaches. One would connect national systems already in use. The study says this could cost less and be quicker than establishing a central database, which could take several years to become operational.
Another option would create a new centralised database related to deportation. The study does not identify which personal data it would contain or which authorities could access it. Possible categories include biometric data, travel-document copies and deportation records.
The third option would standardise case management systems. Member states could build national tools around the RECAMAS model, or use one tool across the EU. The initiative also aims to improve information exchange for readmission procedures, including requests to consulates or embassies for travel documents and evidence of a person’s nationality.
RECAMAS sets standards for tracking individual cases, coordinating identification and travel-document requests, and supporting cooperation between authorities. Several member states already use it. Readmission Case Management Systems, or RCMS, exchange information between EU member states and countries outside the bloc, including data for re-identification and travel-document requests. Existing arrangements involve Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The European Search Portal, operational since 12 June, already gives authorised immigration officers access to large quantities of migrants’ personal data. It is existing infrastructure, separate from the system options under consideration.
The regulation's rollout and data safeguards draw scrutiny
The European Parliament approved the regulation on 17 June, and the Council later formally adopted it, concluding the legislative process. Médecins du Monde dated its adoption statement to Brussels, 1 October 2026. Many provisions apply after a 12-month period, while provisions allowing return hubs can apply from the regulation’s entry into force.
The new proposal would add to a framework that already provides for digital tools, surveillance and personal-data collection, including smartphone analysis. Statewatch says the planned initiative is expected to further weaken personal-data safeguards and expand surveillance. That is the organisation’s concern about the proposal, not a description of final terms.
More than 200 organisations called for the regulation to be rejected. PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, has called it the “Deportation Regulation.” EDRi says the framework relies heavily on technology and data collection, raising concerns about expanded surveillance and digital control.
EDRi points to investigative powers under Article 23a, including searches of people and electronic devices, forced biometric collection, and searches of homes and other relevant premises. The locations identified include community centres, workplaces and hospitals. It also says detention grounds in Article 29 are vaguely defined, raising concern about possible arbitrary detention at the national level.
Médecins du Monde has warned that the measures “could have serious consequences for access to care and medical ethics.” More than 1,300 healthcare workers signed an open letter opposing the regulation, citing access to healthcare, medical confidentiality and the doctor-patient relationship. The organisation also cites offshore return hubs in third countries, expanded and prolonged detention, stronger enforcement and cooperation obligations, and new investigative powers reaching shelters, hospitals and workplaces.
“Health systems should remain spaces of care, not control. Healthcare workers must be able to care for their patients without being placed in the role of immigration enforcement, and people must be able to seek healthcare without the fear of being detained and deported. The adoption of this Regulation does not make these concerns disappear. Its implementation must now be shaped by strong safeguards for health and medical ethics.”
Andrea Soler, Médecins du Monde’s EU Migration Policy Advisor, said the organisation wants member states to shield healthcare facilities, social support services, shelters and reception centres from immigration enforcement, and create a clear firewall between healthcare and immigration. EDRi also says the regulation could allow a person to be sent to a country they have never visited and detained there indefinitely.
The order provisions put two deadlines on the implementation calendar
The regulation also requires a common form called the “European Return Order.” By 17 April 2027, the Commission must adopt an implementing act setting out that form. It must contain the main elements of the return decision and, where relevant, the decision ordering removal.
Member states must use the order when issuing a return decision and make it available through the Schengen Information System under Regulation (EU) 2018/1860. By 17 October 2027, the Commission and relevant EU agencies, including eu-LISA, must put measures in place to allow automated handling. Member states must notify the Commission by then about their legal and technical arrangements.
A Commission call for evidence for an impact assessment, dated 7 November 2025, named the planned initiative “Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council to digitalise case management in the area of return, readmission and reintegration (new common approach on returns).” It listed DG HOME, Unit C1, as the lead unit and Q4-2025 as the indicative timetable. The European Council had called for a unified return policy in conclusions dated 9 February 2023, then urged action to facilitate and speed up returns on 17 October 2024.
The Commission launched the underlying proposal in March 2025. President von der Leyen’s 2024–2029 political guidelines called for digital case management, a common approach to returns and mutual recognition of decisions across Europe.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
