EU granted 3.5 million first residence permits to non-EU nationals in 2024

In 2024, 3.5 million first residence permits were issued in the EU to non-EU citizens, an 8.3 per cent decline (-315 700) compared with 2023, the year with the highest number recorded to date, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on September 12.

Employment was the main reason for issuing residence permits in 2024, accounting for 31.9 per cent (1.1 million) of all first residence permits issued, indicating a tangible decrease compared with 2023 (-12.2 per cent; -155 500).

Family reasons accounted for 27.1 per cent (950 600) of all permits, reflecting a 6.5 per cent drop (-65 800) compared with 2023. Other reasons, including international protection, made up a little more than a quarter of the share (25.3 per cent; 886 300), with a 10.0 per cent fall (-98 900).

Education reasons factored in for 15.7 per cent (549 400) of all first residence permits, representing the only overall increase of 0.8 per cent (+4 500). 

In 2024, the highest number of first residence permits was issued to citizens of Ukraine (295 600), followed by India (192 400) and Morocco (188 400).

looking at the top 10 countries of citizenship of those granted residence permits, employment was the most frequent reason for nationals of Ukraine (72.5 per cent), Belarus (55.2 per cent), and India (43.9 per cent).

Other reasons, including international protection, dominated for citizens of Afghanistan (85.4 per cent), Syria (79 per cent) and Bangladesh (40.8 per cent).

Family reasons accounted for the largest share of permits for nationals of Morocco (46.6 per cent), Colombia (44.8 per cent) and Türkiye (35.4 per cent), while the largest share for nationals of China was educational reasons (34.1 per cent).