Nearly 3.7 million first residence permits were granted by European Union member states to non-EU citizens s last year, recent data provided by the EU Office for Statistics, Eurostat, has revealed.
According to Eurostat, the figure represents a 26 per cent surge compared to 2021. The same noted that the total is the highest recorded since 2009, surpassing even the pre-pandemic level, which stood at 3.0 million.
Data show that during 2022, over 42 per cent of the total first residence permits were issued for employment reasons (243,617), representing an 18 per cent increase compared to 2021.
Further data from Eurostat reveal that family reasons constituted 24 per cent of the overall permits granted, while other reasons, including categories like international protection, constituted 21 per cent.
At the same time, education reasons were the basis for 13 per cent of the total permits issued.
Other reasons experienced a remarkable surge of 37 per cent, reflecting an additional issuance of 209,074 permits; education reasons followed suit with a rise of 33 per cent, while family reasons displayed a noticeable increase of 26 per cent, contributing an extra 183,524 permits.
Out of the EU nations, Germany topped the list of first residence permits granted, issuing a total of 538,690 permits.
Spain issued the second-highest number of first residence permits, with more than 300,000 initial permits granted. The country is followed by Italy, which granted 337,788 first permits, and France, which granted 324,200 first residence permits.
Moreover, the most substantial growth in the overall count of permits granted in 2022, in contrast to 2021, was observed in Germany, registering an increase of +190 per cent (rising from 185,570 in 2021 to 538,690 in 2022).
As the data from Eurostat points out, this increase in Germany’s numbers is primarily attributed to the notable rise in permit issuance for family and other reasons.
Following Germany was Malta, experiencing a significant increase of +164 per cent (rising from 14,358 in 2021 to 37,851 in 2022), and Ireland, which saw a notable surge of +146 per cent (rising from 34,935 to 85,793).
On the other hand, certain countries observed a decline in the total number of permits issued last year when compared to 2021.
Czechia is one of the countries that experienced a notable decrease of -28 per cent. Slovakia recorded a more modest decrease of six per cent, and Hungary saw a minimal decrease of one per cent.
Eurostat also reveals that last year the most sought-after work destinations were Spain, granting 145,314 permits, followed by Germany with 81,795 permits, and Italy with 66,791 permits.
Regarding family reasons, the leading EU countries issuing permits in 2022 were Germany, with 188,367 permits, Spain, with 168,804 permits, and Italy, with 131,275 permits.
Regarding other reasons, Germany stood out as the highest issuer, granting 198,456 permits, while Italy followed with 114,256 permits.
In addition, France took the lead for education-related permits by issuing the most with 104,777 permits, followed by Germany with 70,072 permits and Spain with 58,636 permits.
