Bulgaria issued 10 958 first residence permits in 2017, most to Turkish citizens
Bulgaria issued a total of 10 958 first residence permits to non-EU citizens in 2017, more than 3000 more than in 2016, according to figures released by European Union statistics agency Eurostat on October 25.
A first residence permit means a residence permit issued to a person for the first time. A residence permit is considered as a first permit also if the time gap between the expiry of the previous permit and the start of validity of the new permit is at least six months, Eurostat said.
Of the first residence permits issued by Bulgaria, 3615 (33 per cent) were for family reasons, 1267 (11.1 per cent) were for education reasons, 1822 (16.6 per cent) were for employment and the largest number, 4254 (38.8 per cent) were for “other” reasons, according to Eurostat.
The largest group of recipients of Bulgarian residence permits were citizens of Turkey, 4060 (37.1 per cent), followed by Russians, 2137 (19.5 per cent) and Ukrainians, 1115 (10.2 per cent).
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