Germany led the way in terms of the number of residence permits, issuing 5.9 million. France had 4.4 million, whilst Spain and Italy each had 4.3 million.
According to Eurostat, there were, on average, 62 valid residence permits per 1,000 EU residents. The highest concentration of permits was recorded in Malta – 230 per 1,000 residents, Cyprus – 204, Estonia – 137 and Latvia – 131. The lowest figures were recorded in Romania (12), Bulgaria (21), Hungary (22) and Poland (29).
During 2025, the total number of valid residence permits in the EU increased by 4.6 per cent. Growth was recorded in 19 countries. The most significant increases were seen in Romania (by 42.6 per cent), Cyprus (by 23.7 per cent), Bulgaria (by 12.7 per cent) and Malta (by 12.3 per cent).
In eight countries, the number of valid permits fell. The largest decreases were recorded in Poland (by 9.7 per cent), Hungary (by 4.2 per cent), Croatia (by 4.0 per cent) and Lithuania (by 3.9 per cent).
Among the four countries with the highest number of residence permits, the figure rose most rapidly in Italy – by 9 per cent. In Germany, the increase was 5.6 per cent; in Spain, 5.4 per cent; and in France, 3.4 per cent.
Family reunification remained the main ground for obtaining a residence permit in the EU, accounting for 32.4 per cent of all valid permits. Work accounted for 22.3 per cent, refugee status or subsidiary protection for 14.7 per cent, and study for 4.7 per cent. A further 25.9 per cent were granted on other grounds.
The breakdown of permits varied significantly between countries. In Germany, 44.8 per cent of valid residence permits were linked to refugee status or subsidiary protection. In absolute terms, this amounts to around 2.7 million permits. By comparison, there were 637,600 such permits in France, 158,700 in Italy and 133,000 in the Netherlands.
Work permits accounted for the majority of permits issued in Croatia (79 per cent), Lithuania (68.1 per cent), Romania (65.5 per cent), Malta (65.2 per cent), Slovakia (59.3 per cent) and Poland (57 per cent). In terms of absolute numbers, Italy led the way with around 1.8 million work permits, followed by Germany with 616,000 and Poland with 601,000.
Among third-country nationals, the largest number of valid residence permits in the EU were held by nationals of Morocco – 2.2 million – and Turkey – 2 million. These were followed by nationals of Ukraine – 1.7 million, China (including Hong Kong) – 1.2 million, Syria – 1.1 million and India – 1 million.
Fewer than 1 million valid permits were held by citizens of the United Kingdom (919,300), Russia (876,600), Albania (875,100) and Algeria (804,700).
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