Background:

Under the Return Directive (Article 12), Member States are required to issue return decisions and, if applicable, entry-ban and removal decisions in writing, providing reasons in fact and in law, as well as information on available legal remedies. National legislation and case law have further clarified these obligations.

In practice, Belgian authorities have observed that the increasing level of detail required in return decisions has contributed to longer and more complex documents, which may affect administrative workload. This query seeks to gather information on how other Member States fulfil their information obligations under the Return Directive, and in particular, whether providing information via a website or IT application is considered sufficient.

Respondents:

A total of 24 EMN Member Countries (including BE) provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.

Key findings:

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that:

• Digital notification exists in several EMN Member Countries when the TCN has provided an email address or has an account in an official portal. For example, in EL, IE, LT, NL, PL and SE.
   
• Almost half of the responding Member States mention that they offer return counselling as part of the return process, which may be either mandatory or voluntary depending on the national framework.
   
• Digital tools are increasingly utilised; however, they are generally regarded as supplementary to, rather than a substitute for, in-person explanations.
   
• Almost all responding countries mention in their answer that decisions or key parts of the decisions are provided in a language the TCN understands or is reasonably presumed to understand.
   
• Written notification continues to serve as the legal baseline due to legal, procedural and practical considerations. Sometimes digital notification is not authorised by law.

For more information, please consult the compilation of answers and the summary attached above.