Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

overall number of detected arrivals dropped further, while Syrians accounted for
most known cases of irregular border crossing (Frontex, 2016d).
A further path, the so-called Eastern European land route, crosses into
Europe via the Russian Federation and then Finland, Norway or Ukraine. This
path has typically accounted for a small albeit persistent flow of irregular
arrivals into Europe – averaging over the past eight years – 1,500 detections
on an annual basis (0.01% of all arrivals). Since 2015, it has however started
gaining significance. This path is mainly followed by Georgians, Russians, as well
as Afghans and Somalis who aim to reach Europe through the eastern borders.
Until 2015, Ukraine was the main transit country. Over the past year, however,
the flows have started shifting towards the artic route and in particular via the
Russian Federation to Norway and Finland. Although the flows have remained
relatively stable over the past eight years, in 2015, there was a relative increase
in the number of detected border crossings (Frontex, 2016e).
Irregular migrants arriving in the southern and eastern borders of the
European Union typically continue their journey towards Western European
countries, although for some nationalities, southern countries are the primary
destination. For many Pakistanis, for instance, Greece is the destination country
(Kuschminder, de Bresser and Siegel, 2015). Secondary movements within Europe
normally develop along a wide diversity and constantly change paths, without
there being any known key trajectories as within Europe. It is also common
for irregular migrants to cross into Europe with the aid of a smuggler, but then
continue their journey alone. Nonetheless, depending on the embarking point,
some common key trajectories are the following:
• The journey for those arriving to Greece routinely continues
via the Western Balkans. Irregular migrants practically exit the
European Union through Greece’s northern-western borders and
seek re-entry via the Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – in different combinations – and
to a lesser extent via Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania (Jandl, Futó
and Karsakova, 2005). From there, they reportedly continue their
journey to Austria and Germany via land. Prior to the refugee
crisis, the Balkan route was of lesser significance and mainly saw
numbers rise in 2013, when around 20,000 migrants made of
changes in border control policies to cross into the country and
apply for asylum. They then continued their journey onwards to
Northern Europe. The majority were Syrians, Somalis but also
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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