Use of the Schengen Information System for the return of illegally staying third-country nationals [EU Legislation in Progress]

Written by Nikolai Atanassov (3rd edition, updated on 18.10.2018),

The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a large-scale information database that supports external border control and law enforcement cooperation in the Schengen states. It does so by enabling competent authorities, such as police and border guards, to enter and consult alerts on wanted or missing persons and lost or stolen property.

In view of responding more effectively to new migration and security challenges, in December 2016, the European Commission put forward a package of three legislative proposals aimed at revising the legal framework of the SIS. The proposal on the use of the SIS for returning illegally staying third-country nationals aims to enhance the enforcement of the EU return policy and to reduce the incentives to irregular migration to the EU. Among other things, the proposal introduces the obligation for Member States to enter all return decisions into the SIS.

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• Use of the Schengen Information System for the return of illegally staying third-country nationals

Figure 1 – Illegally staying third-country nationals, return decisions and effective returns (in millions)

Figure 2 – SIS alerts on persons (in millions)