Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
More than 3.7 million first-time residence permits were issued in the EU to non-EU citizens in 2023, an increase of 4.7% compared to 2022, the highest number recorded so far.
Employment remained the main reason for issuing residence permits in 2023, accounting for 33.8% (1.3 million) of all first-time residence permits issued, indicating a modest decrease compared to 2022 (-0.4%; -4,662).
Family reasons accounted for 26.4% (986,453) of all permits, reflecting an increase of 6.4% (+58,943) compared to 2022. Other reasons, including international protection, accounted for roughly the same share (25.6%; 956,646), with an increase of 5.3% (+48,406). Educational reasons accounted for 14.3% (534,558) of all first residence permits, representing the largest overall increase of 13.5% (+63,674).

This information comes from the first residence permit data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union in Brussels.

Highest number of residence permits for Ukrainian citizens
In 2023, the highest number of first residence permits were issued to citizens of Ukraine (307,313), followed by Belarus (281,279) and India (207,966).

When looking at the top 10 countries of citizenship for those granted residence permits, work was the most common reason for citizens of Ukraine (71.7%), Belarus (52.3%), India (45.2%) and Turkey (31.8%). Other reasons, including international protection, also dominated for citizens of Syria (77.3%) and Afghanistan (85.1%). Family reasons accounted for the largest share of permits for citizens of Morocco (50.3%), Russia (39.4%) and Brazil (35.3%), while Chinese citizens were granted most permits for educational reasons (37.8%).