Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands plan to open the first so-called "return hub" in Africa in 2027, according to a report by DW.

The five European Union member states are pursuing the project jointly. Under the plan, migrants whose asylum claims have failed in Europe would be transferred to a facility on African soil, from which their removal to their countries of origin would be organised. The target launch year is 2027, making it the first operational facility of this kind on the African continent.

The initiative responds to a longstanding practical problem in European migration policy: many countries of origin refuse to accept the return of their own nationals directly from EU territory. A hub outside Europe is intended to shorten that chain and make deportations easier to complete.

Who is affected

The plan concerns rejected asylum seekers and other migrants subject to removal orders in the five participating states — Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. It does not create new pathways to legal migration. Applicants still in ongoing asylum procedures in those countries are not the target group.

Which countries host the facility

The participating states have not yet publicly named the African country that would host the first hub. DW reports the facility is planned for 2027, but negotiations with potential host governments remain part of the process ahead of any launch.

Why it matters

The project marks a shift in how European governments handle returns. Instead of carrying out deportations directly from national territory — where charter flights, transit permissions and identity documents often stall the process — states would move the final stage of removal outside the EU's external borders.

The five-state format also signals a "coalition of the willing" approach: rather than waiting for all 27 EU member states to agree, the group is pushing forward with a smaller framework. Germany, as the largest participating state, gives the plan significant political weight.

Open questions

Several details remain unresolved in the reporting available so far:

• The host country has not been confirmed.
• The legal basis for transferring people to a third-country facility, and the oversight arrangements there, are not yet spelled out.
• The project requires agreements with both the host state and, in many cases, the countries of origin of the people being returned.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised similar concepts, arguing that outsourcing return procedures to facilities outside Europe risks weakening legal safeguards for the individuals concerned.

What changes and when

For now, nothing changes for migrants in the five states. The hub is a plan with a 2027 target date, not an operating programme. People with pending asylum claims or removal orders continue to follow the existing procedures of Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Readers affected by asylum or return procedures should rely on official information from the relevant national immigration authorities and the EU institutions. Details on eligibility, procedures and deadlines will only become fixed once the participating governments publish formal agreements.

The project's next milestones to watch are the selection of a host country and the signing of the underlying bilateral agreements — steps that will determine whether the 2027 date holds.