EU countries issued some 3.5 million first-time residency permits in 2024.
With EFTA countries Switzerland (47,500) and Norway (23,600) included, the number reaches 3.57 million.
This represents an 8 per cent decline – 315,000 fewer – than the 3.8 million issued in 2023, the year with the highest number ever recorded, according to data published by the EU statistical office, Eurostat.
First residency permits refer to new authorisations issued by national authorities to non-EU/EFTA citizens to stay in the country for employment, family, education or other reasons. They can be issued for a minimum of three months to a year or more. The data also includes permits issued because of a change to a previous residency status.
The decline recorded in 2024 can partly be explained by that fact that fewer first residency permits for employment (-12 per cent) were handed out, plus a drop of 6.5 percent in the number of permits given out for family reunifications. There was also a 10 percent drop in the number of permits issued for "other" reasons (see below). However, permits issued for education purposes recorded a small increase (+0.8 per cent).
The highest relative decreases in new permits handed out were seen among citizens coming from Belarus (-38 per cent), Turkey (-13 per cent), Afghanistan (-10 per cent) and India (-9 per cent).
As for issuing countries, the largest relative decline was reported in Estonia (-42 per cent), Malta (-30 per cent) and Poland (-24 per cent), with a significant negative trend also in Slovakia and Germany (-18 per cent), Finland and Slovenia (-14 per cent).
Relative increases were recorded instead in Greece (+24 per cent) and Cyprus (+16 per cent).
Across the EU, the highest number of first residency permits were granted to citizens of Ukraine (295,600), India (192,400) and then Morocco (188,400).
For countries covered by The Local the number of first time residency permits were as follows:
Residency permits for employment reasons
Overall, employment was the main reason non-EU citizens were able to obtain a first residency permit in European countries. This concerned 1.1 million people, or 32 per cent of the total number of first permits.
There were differences across countries, however.
Employment was the most common factor in Croatia (95 per cent), Lithuania (82 per cent) and Romania (77 per cent), but also in Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.
Poland was the main destination for non-EU workers (almost 338,000 first permits for this reason), followed by Spain (96,000), Croatia (86,000) and Germany (77,000).
Ukrainians and Belarusians were granted the largest number of first residency permits in the EU for employment reasons, of which the majority were issued in Poland.
Employment was also the primary reason for first residency permits to men, while for women the main reason was family.
Family reasons
Almost one million (950,600) first residency permits were issued for family reasons, or 27 per cent of the total. Joining family members was the most common basis for new residency permits in Luxembourg, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Spain (258,000), Germany (197,000), Italy (110,000) and France (91,000) were the EU countries issuing the highest number of first residency permits for family reasons.
Family was the main ground for permits granted to citizens of Morocco (47 per cent), Colombia (45 per cent) and Turkey (35 per cent).
Education reasons
Education accounted for 549,400 (almost 16 per cent) first residency permits issued by EU countries last year.
Ireland and France were the only EU states where this was the predominant reason for new residents (48 and 33 per cent respectively). In absolute terms, Spain, Germany and France were the top destinations for non-EU students.
Indians were the largest group to receive first residency permits for education purposes, nearly a third of which were issued in Germany. On a relative basis, education was the predominant reason for new residency permits issued to Chinese nationals (34 per cent).
Across the EU, almost the same proportion of first residency permits were issued to men and women (8 and 7.7 per cent respectively) for this purpose.
Other reasons
Other reasons to obtain a residency permit included international protection (refugee status) or different types of residency, for instance as pensioners. Such reasons accounted for 886,300 (25 per cent) of first residency permits issued in 2024 and were the most common in Greece, Italy, Austria and Estonia.
Syrians topped the list of first residency permits issued for other reasons, of which 56 per cent were granted in Germany.
In relation to nationality, this was the predominant reasons for first residency permits to Afghan (85 per cent), Syrian (79 per cent) and Bangladesh (41 per cent) nationals.
People under EU temporary protection, such as people who left Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion, are not covered by these statistics.
Top issuing countries
The country that issued the highest number of first residency permits in 2024 was Spain (562,000 or 16 per cent of the total), followed by Germany (545,000), Poland (489,000), Italy and France (346,000 and 342,000).
Relative to the population, the highest proportion was recorded in Malta (52 permits per 1,000 population) and Cyprus (41), while the lowest was in Romania, Bulgaria and Estonia (around 3). Across the EU, 7.8 first residency permits were issued per 1,000 people in 2024.
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