EU issued record number of new residence permits in 2025
About 3.9 million new permits were granted to non‑EU nationals in 2025, a 10.1% increase over 2024, Eurostat says.
The European Union issued about 3.9 million new residence permits to non-EU nationals in 2025, the highest annual total on record. Eurostat reported the figure represents a 10.1% rise compared with 2024.
Employment was the most common reason for granting a permit, accounting for 33.6% of new permits, followed by family reunification with 28.1% and education with 15.5%.
Spain issued the largest number of new permits — 635,438 — followed by Germany with 605,292, Poland with nearly 470,000, Italy with just over 433,000 and France with about 377,000. Together these five countries were responsible for almost two thirds of all new permits across the EU.
Distribution and national patterns
Although Spain issued the greatest number of permits overall, most of its new permits were linked to family reunification. By contrast, Poland and Portugal ranked among the leading countries for permits issued for work.
Ukrainian nationals formed the largest single group of new permit-holders, with the biggest share of those permits issued in Poland. They were followed by citizens of India and Morocco.
At the end of 2025 the EU also held a record stock of valid residence permits — 27.8 million. The rise in new permits and the growing stock underline a sustained upward trend in long-term residence authorizations across the bloc, according to Eurostat.
Photo: press material from the event
