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This year, European countries have tightened migration policies and are preparing for a major overhaul of existing measures when the European Union's new asylum and migration pact comes into effect in 2026.

The new policies come despite a in irregular arrivals in the year to July.

Elections in 2024 and 2025 have seen far-right, anti-migration parties grow in popularity, and immigration remains a politically charged topic in the bloc's 27 member states.

European countries have stepped up border controls, cracked down on smuggling gangs and outsourced asylum processing, while the EU prepares to implement the in June 2026 to reduce irregular arrivals.

In May, nine countries - Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - called upon the EU to make it simpler for member states to .

Rights groups say under the new policy there is an increased risk of arbitrary detention and repatriations to countries where asylum seekers are vulnerable to violence or unfair imprisonment, while lawyers say there could be an increase in court challenges.

Here's a roundup of European migration flashpoints:

Britain and France

Britain the time it takes for foreign workers to get settled status to 10 years in a major shake-up to legal migration pathways.

Refugees will only be able to apply for permanent settlement after 20 years, a jump from the current five years. They will also have their status reviewed every 30 months and could be returned to their home country if conditions change and it is deemed safe.

Governments in France and Britain face pressure from far-right parties that are rising in polls and pushing for .

In July, Britain and France agreed to a "" pilot programme to return migrants arriving in small boats, as border forces counted a record number of arrivals across the English Channel in the first half of 2025.

Under the scheme, Britain deports undocumented migrants to France in return for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers with British family connections.

In France, the focus is on ways to . Deportations rose by more than a quarter to 22,000 people last year, official data showed in February.

the new rules put people at risk by forcing them to return to unsafe or unstable countries, separated from family and without adequate basic services like health care.

Germany and Poland 

Germany pledged to to make it harder to smuggle migrants to Britain under a major treaty.

Elected in February, Germany's coalition government agreed to reject undocumented asylum seekers at borders, enable deportations to Syria and and suspend family reunions. It is also considering plans to process asylum applications abroad.

In July, Poland introduced on its borders with Germany and Lithuania as migration fears strained the fabric of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. It follows similar moves in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Public debate over migration has become more heated in Poland, where far-right groups launched "citizens' patrols" on the western border.

Poland the right to asylum in 2024 to prevent migrants illegally crossing the border from Belarus, which has been with Russia to weaponise migration.

Activists say suspending the right to asylum is against the constitution and would force migrants into the criminal hands of people smugglers and human traffickers.

Italy and Greece

Italy became the first EU country to have a non-EU state process migrants on its behalf when last year to host up to 36,000 migrants a year.

Two purpose-built centres the first migrants in October 2024, but some were to Italy within days after an Italian court ruled they could not be held in Albania due to concerns over their legal status.

The Italian government to push on with the policy despite the legal challenges, including another from the EU's top court, expecting the centres to be operational from mid-2026 when the EU rule changes kick in.

Greece, which has seen a rise in arrivals on its shores, temporarily stopped processing asylum applications from North Africa in July and has called for an EU-wide discussion on setting up 'migrant return hubs' in Africa, to fast-track deportations of failed asylum seekers to countries considered safe outside the EU.

Greece will be dealing with migration pressure under the EU's new asylum pact in mid-2026.

Spain

Spain's Balearic Islands have seen the steepest , with irregular arrivals up 27% from January to October compared with the same period the previous year, according to EU border agency Frontex, while arrivals on its Canary Islands have fallen.

In contrast with other EU countries, Spain has been largely open to migration and its economic benefits, with plans to relocate unaccompanied minors from the Canary Islands to the mainland.

It also plans to undocumented immigrants a year over the next three years, part of a strategy to expand its labour force as its population ages. A draft bill is being debated by parliamentary groups.

This article was updated on December 9 2025 with new policy details and other developments

(Reporting by Joanna Gill in Brussels and Lin Taylor in London; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst.)