EU countries issued 3.9 million first residence permits to non-EU citizens in 2025, an increase of 10.1 per cent from the previous year, as employment remained the main reason for people being granted permission to live in the bloc.

The number of first residence permits issued rose by 355,350 compared with 2024, according to Eurostat.

Employment accounted for around one-third of all first residence permits issued during the year, with 1.3 million permits, or 33.6 per cent, granted for employment-related reasons.

Family reasons were the second-largest category, accounting for 1.1 million permits, or 28.1 per cent of the total.

A further 0.9 million permits, representing 22.8 per cent of the total, were issued for other reasons, including international protection.

Education accounted for the remaining 0.6 million first residence permits, equivalent to 15.5 per cent of all permits issued in 2025.

The number of permits issued for employment increased by 16.1 per cent year-on-year, while family-related permits rose by 14.1 per cent.

Education-related first permits also increased, rising by 9.0 per cent compared with 2024.

The only category to record a decline was other reasons, which includes international protection, with the number of permits falling by 0.9 per cent.

Ukrainian citizens received the largest number of first residence permits among non-EU nationals in 2025, with 335,100 permits issued.

They were followed by Indian citizens, who received 227,600 first permits, while Moroccan citizens received 202,100.

At the end of 2025, there were 27.8 million valid residence permits held by non-EU citizens across the EU.

Family reunification was the main reason for those valid permits, accounting for 32.4 per cent of the total.

Moroccan citizens held the largest number of valid residence permits at the end of the year, with 2.2 million permits.

They were followed by Turkish citizens, who held 2.0 million valid permits, and Ukrainian citizens, who held 1.7 million.

The figures distinguish between first residence permits issued during 2025 and all valid residence permits held at the end of the year, meaning the latter also include permits issued in earlier years.