Many Europeans mistakenly think most immigrants are illegal, poll shows

Exclusive: Seven-country survey finds overwhelming opposition to increasing migration and support for deportations

Many Europeans mistakenly think most migrants are in their country illegally, according to a poll that found overwhelming opposition to any increase in migration and strong support for a significant reduction in numbers, including deportation.

Pluralities or majorities of between 44% and 60% of respondents polled in a survey by YouGov in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain said they thought there “many” or “somewhat” more migrants were staying illegally than legally.

Estimates of people staying illegally in European countries are significantly lower than official figures for the foreign-born population. A 2023 study, for example, found that only 21% of immigrants in France had at one point been “undocumented”.

In Poland, the only central European country surveyed, the public was divided, with 36% believing there were more illegal than legal migrants in the country against 28% who believed the opposite, and 22% who thought the proportions were the same.