Chapter III, Article 19 · Regulation (EU) 2026/2280

Contents

Article 19Risk of absconding#

1.There is a risk of absconding, in an individual case, unless proven otherwise, where one or more of the following criteria is fulfilled:

(a)the third-country national has entered or moved without authorisation to the territory of a Member State, including following transit through a third country, or attempts to do so;

(b)the third-country national is subject to a return decision issued by a Member State other than the one on the territory of which he or she is currently staying illegally, including as detected through the alerts entered into the Schengen Information System pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1860;

(c)the third-country national does not comply with one or more of the measures imposed in accordance with Article 20(1), and Article 22, or expresses or demonstrates intent to do so;

(d)the third-country national has re-entered the territory of the Member States in violation of a valid entry ban.

2.In cases not covered by paragraph 1, the risk of absconding shall be determined on the basis of an overall assessment of the circumstances of the individual case. The assessment shall take into account one or more of the following criteria regarding the illegally staying third-country national concerned:

(a)lack of residence, fixed abode or reliable address;

(b)non-compliance with the obligation to leave the territory of the Member States within the departure period as set out in accordance with Article 5(2), point (a);

(c)where departure is imminent, there are reasons to believe that the third-country national intends to violate the obligation to cooperate as set out in Article 18(3), point (a);

(d)using false or forged identity or travel documents, residence permits or visas or documents justifying conditions of entry, destroying or otherwise disposing of such documents, using aliases with fraudulent intent, providing other false information in an oral or written form, or otherwise fraudulently opposing the return or readmission procedure;

(e)not attending return and reintegration counselling, where required by the competent authorities;

(f)lack of social anchoring, in particular the absence of family ties, and insufficient means of subsistence;

(g)non-compliance with the obligations under Article 18(3), points (a) to (d), (f), (h), (k), (l) and (m), including lack of cooperation in obtaining travel documents;

(h)other criteria than those set out in points (a) to (g) where provided for in national law.

Defined terms · 11

Show every defined term

absconding
means the action by which a third-country national does not remain available to the competent administrative or judicial authorities;
country of return
means one of the following:
decision ordering removal
means an administrative or judicial act or decision stating or declaring that a third-country national can be removed to one or more countries of return;
entry ban
means an administrative or judicial act or decision prohibiting the entry into and stay on the territory of the Member States of a third-country national;
illegal stay
means the presence, on the territory of a Member State, of a third-country national who does not fulfil, or who no longer fulfils, the entry conditions for third-country nationals as set out in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, or the conditions for stay or residence in that Member State, or, in the case of a Member State not bound by that Regulation, the conditions for entry, stay or residence laid down in equivalent national law;
removal
means the enforcement of a return decision or a decision ordering removal by the competent authorities through physical transportation from the Member States to a country of return;
return
means the actions by which an illegally staying third-country national:
return decision
means an administrative or judicial act or decision, stating or declaring the stay of a third-country national to be illegal and stating or imposing an obligation for that third-country national to leave the territory of the Member States;
return operation
means an operation organised or coordinated by a competent authority or supported by Frontex by which third-country nationals are returned from one or more Member States.
third-country national
means any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and who is not a person enjoying the right of free movement under Union law, as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Regulation (EU) 2016/399;
voluntary return
means the departure from the territory of the Member States on his or her own, with or without assistance, and without resorting to removal, of an illegally staying third-country national complying with the obligation to leave within or after the expiry of the departure period set out in the return decision;