Meeting in Addis Ababa on 18 February, the EU-Ethiopia Joint Working Group reviewed implementation of their 2018 Readmission Arrangement. Two days later, on 20 February, the European External Action Service issued an unusually upbeat statement praising Ethiopia for accelerating the issuance of laissez-passer documents needed to return nationals with no legal right to remain in Europe. Belgium – whose government has made higher return rates a cornerstone of its “strict but humane” migration strategy – welcomed the announcement. According to figures from Asylum Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt’s office, Ethiopians represent a growing share of failed asylum applicants in Belgium, but actual returns have lagged because of documentation delays. The EEAS communiqué signals that Addis Ababa will now process requests within 30 days and accept EU-standard travel documents, removing a key bottleneck.
![EU hails progress in Ethiopia readmission deal as Belgium pushes tougher return policy]()
For organisations and individuals who will now have to navigate the practicalities that flow from these policy shifts, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. The platform’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) offers real-time guidance on visa rules, document checklists, courier options and status tracking—valuable tools for HR teams handling voluntary returns as well as for travellers seeking to understand evolving entry requirements.
The EU also pledged technical and financial support for Ethiopia’s reintegration programmes, a move Brussels hopes will discourage re-migration. Belgian officials say they will tap EU funds to expand voluntary-return counselling and post-return monitoring, aiming to double the number of Ethiopian nationals repatriated from Belgium in 2026 compared with 2025. For globally mobile companies, the improved cooperation could ease talent-mobility planning by clarifying the status of employees’ extended family members whose asylum claims have been rejected. Immigration lawyers, however, warn that faster returns may also increase the likelihood of last-minute appeals and humanitarian-stay requests, adding administrative peaks for HR departments. The development fits into a broader EU push to link visa-issuance and development aid to readmission performance – an approach Belgium has championed in Council negotiations. Observers expect similar scorecard systems to be rolled out for other Sub-Saharan African states during 2026.
For organisations and individuals who will now have to navigate the practicalities that flow from these policy shifts, VisaHQ can streamline the paperwork. The platform’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) offers real-time guidance on visa rules, document checklists, courier options and status tracking—valuable tools for HR teams handling voluntary returns as well as for travellers seeking to understand evolving entry requirements.
The EU also pledged technical and financial support for Ethiopia’s reintegration programmes, a move Brussels hopes will discourage re-migration. Belgian officials say they will tap EU funds to expand voluntary-return counselling and post-return monitoring, aiming to double the number of Ethiopian nationals repatriated from Belgium in 2026 compared with 2025. For globally mobile companies, the improved cooperation could ease talent-mobility planning by clarifying the status of employees’ extended family members whose asylum claims have been rejected. Immigration lawyers, however, warn that faster returns may also increase the likelihood of last-minute appeals and humanitarian-stay requests, adding administrative peaks for HR departments. The development fits into a broader EU push to link visa-issuance and development aid to readmission performance – an approach Belgium has championed in Council negotiations. Observers expect similar scorecard systems to be rolled out for other Sub-Saharan African states during 2026.
