August 12, 2022

Last year, the number of residence permits issued in the European Union for the first time increased almost to pre-pandemic levels, with Poland leading the region primarily owing to immigration tied to employment while France drew primarily students.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the number of first-time residence permits for non-EU nationals issued in the EU increased by 31% to 2,952,300 in 2021 from a year earlier, only slightly less than the 2,955,300 such permits issued in 2019.

This growth was primarily caused by work and education, which together accounted for 1.3 million permits in 2021.

33 percent of the bloc’s total initial residence permits were issued by Poland, who also issued 790,100 of them for employment-related reasons, including 666,300 for Ukrainians under bilateral agreements.

Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands came after that. About three-quarters of all licenses issued in the EU in 2021 were collectively issued by the six member states.

Around 30% of all new residence permits given last year went to Ukrainians, who received the most of them. Belarusians and Moroccans made up the next 10% of the population.

With 90,600 initial licenses awarded in 2021, mostly to Chinese nationals, France was by far the most popular destination for students from non-EU nations.

Brazilian and Syrian visas were issued in smaller numbers in 2021—by 2% and 14%, respectively.

Many new immigrants chose their country of residence because of geographic closeness, historical and linguistic ties, or because of an established immigrant network, according to Eurostat.

While Moroccans, Brazilians, and Colombians sought residence in France, Portugal, and Spain, Ukrainians and Belarusians primarily traveled to neighboring Poland.

Source: EURACTIV
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