Residence permits in EU

In 2022, the European Union granted approximately 3.5 million first residence permits to third-country nationals, representing an increase of 17.8 per cent (by 521,536 permits) compared to the previous year.

Analysing the data, it is worth noting that among the ten countries outside the EU that received the highest number of first residence permits in 2022, Syria (123.5%), Belarus (108.1%) and Afghanistan (84.4%) recorded the largest relative increase compared to 2021.

The main reason for third-country nationals obtaining first residence permits in the EU in 2022 was employment, which accounted for 1.2 million cases or 35.9% of the total number of first residence permits issued.

A residence permit in the European Union is a legal permit issued by an authorised national authority that authorises a non-EU national (hereinafter referred to as a third-country national) to stay in the EU territory for more than three months. Within the statistical framework, data on residence permits issued are collected together with information on the reasons for their issuance, which include employment, family reunification, education and other reasons.

The statistical dynamics of residence permits in individual EU Member States reflect the diversity of national migration systems and the influence of pan-European migration policies. Additional factors such as the demographic and legal characteristics of third-country nationals, as well as the geographical location and linguistic ties of the countries involved in the migration process, also have a significant impact.

National administrative registers and databases are the main source of these statistics. In 2022, a record number of first residence permits were issued in the EU to third-country nationals – almost 3.5 million. This number is 17.8 per cent higher than the data for 2021, which amounts to an additional 521,536 permits. Note that these data do not include persons with temporary protection status, for whom statistics are collected separately. For more information it is recommended to consult the Eurostat database.

The increase in the total number of first residence permits in the European Union from 2021 to 2022 was mainly driven by growth in the category “other reasons”, where 300,727 more permits were issued, corresponding to an increase of 53.7%. Notable growth also occurred in the categories of family reunification and educational purposes, where the number of permits issued increased by 199,068 (28.6%) and 103,403 (29.3%) respectively. In contrast, the employment category showed a decrease of 81,662 permits, or 6.2 per cent, compared to the previous year.

Nevertheless, employment reasons remained the largest category among the first residence permits issued in 2022, accounting for about 1.2 million, or 35.9 per cent of the total. Family reasons accounted for 25.9 per cent, educational reasons for 13.2 per cent, and other reasons, including international protection, for 24.9 per cent.

Among EU countries, the highest number of first residence permits for 2022 was issued in Poland – 700,264 permits (20.3% of the EU total). Followed by Germany with 538,690 (15.6%), Spain with 466,712 (13.5%), Italy with 337,788 (9.8%) and France with 324,200 (9.4%), these five countries accounted for almost 70% of all first residence permits issued in the EU that year.

Germany recorded the largest relative increase in the total number of first authorisations compared to 2021 at 190.3%, with particularly notable increases among nationals of Syria and Afghanistan, which contributed significantly to the overall increase. Germany was followed by Malta (163.6 per cent growth) and Ireland (145.6 per cent growth). The largest relative decreases were observed in the Czech Republic (-27.7%) and Poland (-27.6%).

In relation to the population of each EU Member State, the highest number of first residence permits per 1,000 population in 2022 were issued in Malta (71.3) and Cyprus (42.6), while the lowest rates were in Romania (2.2), Bulgaria (2.4) and Greece (3.4). The EU average for 2022 was 7.7 first residence permits issued per 1,000 inhabitants.

Reasons for obtaining a Residence Permit in the EU

Remunerated activity

In 2022, employment-related reasons were the main reasons for issuing first residence permits in fourteen European Union Member States. A significant predominance of this category was observed in Croatia, where 93.3 per cent of all first residence permits were employment-related. In Romania the figure was 73.6 per cent, in Malta 72.8 per cent, in Lithuania 71.5 per cent and in Slovakia 70.5 per cent. Poland stood out as the main centre of attraction for third-country nationals, mainly Belarusians and Ukrainians, entering the EU for employment purposes. A total of 447,225 first residence permits for employment reasons were issued in this country. Poland was followed by Spain and Germany, where 140,034 and 81,795 first residence permits for the purpose of employment were issued respectively. These three Member States together issued more than half (53.9%) of all employment-related first residence permits in the EU.

Family formation and reunification

In 2022, family reasons were the main reason for issuing the first residence permits in nine Member States of the European Union. In countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Sweden, the share of permits issued for family reasons exceeded 40 per cent of the total number of national permits. The four largest EU Member States in terms of the number of first residence permits issued for family reasons in 2022 were Germany (188,367 permits), Spain (174,532), Italy (131,275) and France (96,598). These four countries accounted for almost two thirds (65.9%) of all first residence permits issued in the EU for family reasons, highlighting their significant role in family reunification within the European Union.

Education and training

In 2022, Ireland and France stood out among the Member States of the European Union in that the main reason for issuing residence permits in these countries was for educational purposes. In Ireland, the share of such permits reached 48.4%, while in France it reached 32.3%, which underlines the significant interest of international students in the educational institutions of these countries. France is particularly attractive to students from non-EU countries and has become the leader among EU states in terms of the number of education-related first residence permits issued. In this country, 104,777 such permits were issued in 2022, representing 22.9 per cent of the total number of residence permits for educational reasons in the EU. This is significantly higher than Germany (70,072) and Spain (58,418), confirming France’s status as a preferred study destination among the international student population.

Other reasons

Comparing European Union countries on the basis of the “miscellaneous” category presents a significant challenge due to the diversity of national administrative and legislative systems. This category includes unique statuses that are determined solely by the national legislation of each country. An example of such a unique status is the Pole Card in Poland, which is registered in this category. Austria and Germany stand out among EU Member States in that the most frequent reason for issuing residence permits in these countries in 2022 was “other reasons”. In Austria, such permits accounted for 50.1 per cent of all permits issued, while in Germany the figure was 36.8 per cent. This reflects the unique aspects of these countries’ migration policies and administrative practices, which may include a wide range of special permits that do not fall under more traditional categories such as employment, family reunification or education.

EU residence permits by gender

Analysing the data available for the 25 countries of the European Union for the year 2022 reveals notable gender differences with regard to the main reasons for issuing first residence permits. Based on the statistics presented, the main reason for obtaining a first residence permit among men was employment-related factors, which accounted for 25.3 per cent of the total number of permits issued to men. At the same time, the similar share among women was much lower and amounted to only 10.4 per cent. On the other hand, residence permits issued for family reasons show the opposite trend, with 15.7 per cent of all permits issued to women falling into this category, which is higher compared to the share of men at 10.8 per cent. This indicates that women are more likely to obtain an EU residence permit as part of family reunification. For education-related reasons, the distribution between men and women was almost identical: 6.6 per cent for men and 6.7 per cent for women, emphasising equal opportunities for both genders to obtain education in the EU. These data illustrate meaningful differences in the migration paths of men and women in the European Union and underline the importance of gender mainstreaming in migration policy analyses.

Countries whose nationals have obtained TRP in EU

In 2022, the highest number of first residence permits in the European Union was issued to citizens of Ukraine, reaching 374,412, representing 10.8% of the total number of first residence permits issued in the EU. This was followed by citizens of Belarus with 309,854 (9.0%) and India with 183,237 (5.3%). In total, almost half of all first residence permits (48.6%) were issued to nationals of the top ten countries.

The stability in the list of the top ten countries whose nationals received their first residence permits was broken only by a change in the positions of citizens of the United States and Afghanistan; the latter entered the top 10, displacing US citizens.

Factors influencing the choice of destination for non-EU nationals include geographical proximity, historical and linguistic ties, and established migration networks. For example, a significant number of Belarusians and Ukrainians chose Poland, Russians preferred Finland, and Moroccans chose Spain and France. While Spain and Portugal were popular destinations for Latin Americans, Germany attracted citizens from Turkey, Russia, India, Syria, Syria, Afghanistan and China.

Poland, in particular, was the main destination for Ukrainians, issuing 70.5 per cent of all their EU permits, and for Belarusians, 92.1 per cent of all their permits. In Portugal, Brazilians were the most frequent choice, while in Spain Moroccans were the most frequent, emphasising the cultural and linguistic ties between these countries and their diasporas.

In 2022, a significant number of residence permits were issued in Europe, with a total of about 3.4 million permits. Poland was the leader in terms of the total number of permits issued, confirming its role as a major migration centre in Europe with 700,264 residence permits issued.

Nevertheless, when one considers the number of permits issued in relation to the population, Malta takes the lead. With a population of just 535,064, Malta issued 37,851 residence permits, making the issuance rate of approximately 707 permits per 10,000 inhabitants – the highest in Europe. Cyprus, in second place, issued 308 permits for every 10,000 inhabitants with a total of 38,851 permits issued. These high figures in Malta and Cyprus can be attributed to their relatively small populations, which makes each permit issued more significant in the statistical calculations.

Among large EU countries, Poland stands out not only for the total number of permits issued, but also for the high number of permits per 10,000 population – about 170. This emphasises the significant impact of migration flows on Poland, especially given its geographical location and economic attractiveness.

Analysing migration dynamics in Europe reveals an interesting picture of the distribution of residence permits across countries, especially considering the ratio of permits issued to population.

The small populations of Cyprus and Malta do give the impression of an uneven distribution, as with their small sizes, already a few thousand permits significantly increase the statistical per capita figures. For example, Malta, with 37,851 permits issued, shows the highest rates in Europe with about 707 for every 10,000 people.

Ireland also stands out with a high rate of 169 permits for every 10,000 inhabitants, well above the average for most European countries. The total number of permits issued in Ireland was 85,793.

Other high performing countries include Slovenia, Luxembourg and Portugal with rates of approximately 154 and 106 permits per 10,000 people respectively. This emphasises their active migration policies and attractiveness to migrants.

Lithuania, with a population of about 2.7 million, issued 27,380 permits, giving a rate of about 100 for every 10,000 population, which is also significant for a country of relatively small size.

In Spain, Finland and Sweden the number of residence permits per 10,000 population varies between 96 and 79, indicating a steady inflow of foreigners. However, the reported figures may be incorrect as the total number of permits issued in these three countries (591,974) and the reported number for Finland (457,412) appear to be mixed up as they seem implausibly high for Finland alone compared to the other countries. This may require further verification or refinement of the data for reporting accuracy.

In 2022, the differences in the number of residence permits issued per capita across Europe were significant. Norway, although not a member of the European Union but part of the Schengen area, stood out with the lowest number of permits issued per population, with only one residence permit issued per 10,000 people and a total of 902 permits. Such figures emphasise the strict migration controls and limited inflow of migrants.

Romania and Bulgaria, also members of the European Union, follow Norway with low rates of residence permits – 21 and 23 respectively for every 10,000 inhabitants. These figures may reflect less active migration flows to these countries or more conservative migration policies.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the countries with the highest number of permits issued, such as Poland, Germany and Spain. Poland stood out in particular, issuing the largest number of residence permits in Europe, which can be partly explained by the significant influx of Ukrainian citizens seeking employment or asylum in light of the conflict in their home country.

We also note that countries such as Estonia and Latvia had less than 10,000 permits issued, which emphasises their smaller scale of migration flows compared to larger countries. These data illustrate significant differences in migration policies and migration flows between European countries.

European countries for obtaining an EU passport EU citizenship

Obtaining citizenship in European countries can be attractive because of the many advantages such as freedom of movement, work and residence in any EU country. Here is an overview of some countries where the citizenship process is considered relatively easy:

1. Portugal

Residence before citizenship: You must have lived in the country for 5 years.
Investment programmes: The Portuguese Golden Visa allows investors to obtain a residence permit which can lead to citizenship.
Features: One of the easiest and most popular paths to citizenship through investment or proof of ties to Portuguese culture.

2. Malta

Residence prior to citizenship: Minimum residence time is 12 months.
Investment Programmes: The Malta Citizenship by Investment Programme requires a significant financial investment.
Features: High costs, but a quick path to citizenship.

3. Ireland

Residence prior to citizenship: Requires a minimum of 5 years residence.
Features: Possibility of citizenship by descent if one of the parents or grandparents was Irish.

4. Italy

Residence before citizenship: 10 years of residence is required.
Features: Citizenship can be obtained more quickly through marriage or descent if you can prove that your ancestor was Italian.

5. Spain

Residence before citizenship: You must have lived in the country for 10 years.
Features: Fast-track citizenship for refugees married to Spaniards or children of Spaniards.

Costs and other expenses

Obtaining citizenship in Europe can involve significant financial costs, especially if the path is chosen through investment programmes. For example, the cost may include not only the investment, but also administrative fees, the cost of translation and certification of documents, which can reach several thousand euros.

Dual citizenship

Some countries, such as Portugal and Ireland, allow dual citizenship, which allows you to keep your current citizenship along with your new one. However, other countries may have restrictions that require you to renounce your current citizenship.