Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
F2: Population and Migration
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
23 January 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
23 January 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
23 January 2025
3.1. Data description
Within the broader statistical domain of residence permits statistics, the statistics on single permits (SP statistics) refer to non-EU citizens receiving an authorisation to reside and work in a simplified procedure, under the framework of Directive 2011/98/EU on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (Hereinafter “SP Directive”).
A single permit is a combined title within a single administrative act encompassing the right for non-EU citizens to legally work and reside in an EU Member State). Data on single permits cover most permits issued for work under national and EU law, but also permits issued for other reasons where the holder has the right to work.
Ireland and Denmark are not bound by Directive 2011/98/EU and this directive is not applicable for EFTA countries.
Data source
Data is based on administrative sources, provided mainly by the Ministries of Interior or related immigration agencies. Generally, the dissemination of data occurs in July of the year following the reference year, contingent on the availability and quality of the data.
See the Annex 1 Residence Permits Technical Guidelines including the guidelines on SP statistics.
Starting from 2025, the residence permits and EU directives data collection now includes six metadata files in total. Countries are required to submit six distinct files. For those that have not yet provided the updated six files, the previous metadata format, included in the annex of this metadata file (Annex 2), remains available as a reference.
3.2. Classification system
Not applicable.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Migration and asylum – Residence permits statistics, single permits.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
A ‘Single Permit’ should be understood as a residence permit that meets the following cumulative three main conditions (for each permit):
results from single application procedure (as defined under article 2(d) Directive 2011/98/EU);
includes the right to reside;
includes the right to work legally.
Single application procedure means any procedure leading, on the basis of a single application made by a third-country national, or by his or her employer, for the authorisation of residence and work in the territory of a Member State, to a decision ruling on that application for the single permit.
Main reason refers to the main reason to reside in the Member State Territory when the Single Permit was granted.
First permit versus change of status and renewal - If the time gap between the expiry of the previous permit and the start of the validity of the new permit is shorter than 6 months the new permit should be regarded as a renewal or as a change of status permit (see the categories from below).
Renewed is considered the residence permits issued in maximum 6 months from the time when the previous permit expires and the main reason of immigration status is the same as in the previous residence permit (a new permit was issued with the same immigration reason).
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistics on SP refers to the number of persons (third-country nationals) who have been granted a 'Single Permit'.
See also point 3.6.
3.6. Statistical population
SP Directive shall apply to third-country nationals who have been granted a Single Permit, taking into account the following cumulative three main conditions (for each permit):
third-country national applying to reside in country for work;
third-country national admitted to country for other purposes (EU or national law) , who are allowed to work and holding a permit in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002;
third-country nationals already admitted for purpose of work (national or EU law)” (Art 3 (1) Directive 2011/98/EU).
3.7. Reference area
EU Member States, except Denmark and Ireland.
Ireland and Denmark are not bound by Directive 2011/98/EU and this directive is not applicable for EFTA countries.
3.8. Coverage - Time
First reference year by data collection is 2013.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Units of measure is the absolute number of persons receiving the single permit under the framework of Directive 2011/98/EU.
Calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Eurostat provide Technical Guidelines to the Member States describing the procedures and the quality requirements for the statistics collected on voluntary basis. See the Annex 1: Residence Permits Technical Guidelines including the guidelines on SP statistics.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable.
8.1. Release calendar
Depending on the data availability, most of the statistics will be released by end of July of the year following the reference year.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
The metadata are complete and accessible online on the website of Eurostat.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Eurostat provides Technical Guidelines to the Member States describing the procedures and the quality requirements for the statistics collected. See Annex 1.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
See Annexes.
11.1. Quality assurance
Statistics on SP are based entirely on administrative sources. Member States compile data in compliance with the Council Regulation (EC) 862/2007 that lays down the common framework for the compilation of statistics on migration and international protection.
The technical guidelines follow the rules and quality aspects from both Council Regulation (EC) 862/2007 and Directive 2011/98/EU. These guidelines set the standard for quality by providing the definitions applied for the collected categories.
At national level, most of the data providers perform various checks before data transmission. At Eurostat level, data processing has an automated validation system embedded and various checks are manually performed in the data workflow before data publication.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Certain differences in definitions and practices of producing statistics might exist between countries due to the national transposition of the SP Directive.
Number of national authorities have introduced improved procedures to ensure that the necessary information is gathered as part of the immigration administrative process and better computing systems to allow this information to be readily accessed to be included in the statistical data.
Non-compliance follow-up measures have been launched by the Commission in response to the most serious cases of missing or incomplete data – where for example, no data have been supplied by a country in response to a data collection. Actions undertaken have demonstrated that a large majority of Member States make a serious effort to be compliant.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The statistics collected under this Directive are widely used in official publications and by a wide range of users.
Within the Commission, the main user of migration and asylum statistics is DG Migration and Home Affairs. However, these statistics are also frequently used by other Directorates General, in particular, by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and by DG Justice and Consumers. These statistics are used in several publications of the Commission, as well as in the preparation of regular reports, policy proposals and analysis.
From EU policy perspective, the implementation of single permits ensure a simplified unique procedure for applying for the right to work and reside in the EU, facilitating the protection and fair treatment to the applicant, reducing the administrative burden and ensuring that non-EU nationals working in the EU are not exploited as they are guaranteed equal treatment with nationals in terms of for instance working conditions, including pay, health and safety, trade union membership, social security, education and vocational training and tax benefits.
In the area of SP statistics, the number of users is contingent upon the statistical product, the topic it covers, and the specific statistical product in question. For example, there were around 500 unique page views in 2024 of the table “Single Permits issued by type of decision, length of validity”.
The statical explained article “Residence permits - statistics on authorisations to reside and work recorded” in which the SP statistics are present recorded a number of 4 433 unique page views.
12.3. Completeness
The implementation of the SP Directive has resulted in an improvement in the completeness and degree of harmonisation of these statistics.
However, despite these improvements, further work is still needed for some of the statistics collected and in some of the Member States at higher granularity. Problems of missing and incomplete data still might occur for specific detailed categories.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Under the framework of the Directive 2011/98/EU and Council Regulation (CE) No 862 of 11 July 2007, the SP statistics are based mainly on administrative registers, and therefore it is expected that there is a high accuracy of the overall resulting statistics. However, the final accuracy of the data depends on the precision of the underlying administrative systems.
The national metadata file gives more details on accuracy at the national level. For example, the absence of certain detailed categories in the statistical system could lead to specific accuracy problems.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
Data should be supplied to Eurostat no later than 6 months after the end of the reference period.
14.2. Punctuality
Residence permit data are generally published within 7 months after the reference year.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Some administrative differences still exist between the Member States due to the national specific EU Directive transposition and particular institutional configuration.
For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the countries please see the national metadata files.
15.2. Comparability - over time
SP statistics should be compiled based on the same reference methodology, and the outputs should be comparable between years. Due to ongoing methodological improvements or revisions to administrative systems that may occur at different reference periods, Member States may apply slightly different processing rules between the years for certain permit categories. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the years, please see the national metadata files.
When a change in the standards for defining and observing a variable over time causes a break in the time series, Eurostat uses the flag "b" to signal this change between years.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Internal coherence (e.g. between years, a coherent classification of issued permits) is ensured through the application of the reference methodological guidelines and through the various validations performed on the data before publication. An important aspect is that this data collection is based on administrative sources following almost the same procedures.
The types of statistics required under the Directive 2011/98/EU are also needed for national purposes, such as for the migration policy management including labour migration. In almost all cases, the data used to produce the statistics are based on existing administrative and statistical systems. The burden related to the SP statistics on the national authorities is therefore related to the need to prepare particular disaggregations or tables that might not otherwise have been produced and to the need to apply the harmonized statistical definitions and concepts. For some national authorities, this resulted in one-off costs associated with the necessary adaptations to methods, procedures, and systems.
The extent of the additional burden may vary between the Member States according to the degree of similarity between the existing national systems for migration statistics and the requirements of the Directive 2011/98/EU. However, in most Member States and for most of the statistics covered by the legal requirements, the additional costs and burden are believed to be limited and to be proportionate to the benefits obtained at both the EU and national level of having more complete and better-harmonized migration statistics.
17.1. Data revision - policy
The general Eurostat revision policy applies to this domain. According to the policy for routine revisions, national data continue to be revised when additional information from national authorities becomes available. If errors are detected in either national data or in European aggregates, they are corrected immediately. Major revisions and changes in methodology which may lead to breaks in time series shall be announced in advance by the national data providers and approved by Eurostat.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The revision practice aligns effectively with the one outlined in sub-concept 17.1 (data revision - policy). Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated. Whenever new country data are validated, the already disseminated data are updated. Revisions of aggregates are made directly after revisions of country data transmitted to Eurostat. Time series breaks caused by major revisions are flagged. Major revisions are documented and communicated to users in a methodological note. Data may be published despite incomplete datasets, with some data missing or flagged as provisional or, in very exceptional cases, of low reliability for specific statistics. Such data are replaced with the final versions upon transmission and validation. The impact of major revisions is analysed in working documents produced for experts' meetings held with representatives of the national data providers.
18.1. Source data
Most of the statistics are based on administrative data sources only. Data are compiled from the administrative records of the national authorities, mainly the Ministries of Interior or immigration agencies.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual.
18.3. Data collection
SP statistics are annually collected from administrative sources, having as a statistical unit the number of persons receiving the authorisation to reside under the framework of Directive 2011/98/EU.
The national authorities from the countries implementing this directive have the obligation to collect the required variable at the national level and to send the resulting statistics to Eurostat in a specific data format. The collected files should pass the automated validation procedure in the first stage of quality assessment at Eurostat level.
Please see the technical guidelines in Annex 1 further information on the data collection.
18.4. Data validation
Before publishing the data, consistent validation checks are performed. SP data are validated through all processing steps, combining manual/visual validation with some tools integrated within the templates and the production environment.
The Member States shall apply the validation checks of the permit statistics before providing data to Eurostat. The statistical process is different in each country. Therefore, each country shall develop its own data validation system, depending on the national infrastructure.
With the aim of assuring the data quality and for harmonising the validation systems between Member States, Eurostat is involved in the following four main activities:
Setting the methodological framework for producing harmonised statistics between the Member States. The methodological requirements are specified in the Technical Guidelines for data collection.
Promote the exchange of good practices between MSs related to the data processing and validation procedures. In this respect, different quality aspects of the statistics produced by Eurostat have been presented to the data providers.
Establishing a set of validation rules that should be applied to all the files that are provided to Eurostat.
Provide some IT tools for data validation (e.g. automated data validation for minimal quality requirements). that allow data providers to check the files before data transmission.
18.5. Data compilation
List of EU aggregates used:
EU28 aggregate refers to European Union before the Brexit. This aggregate covers the following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK.
EU27_2019 aggregate refers to European Union (27 countries without the United Kingdom). This aggregate covers the following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE.
EU aggregates are calculated only if all the Member States from the aggregate are available.
Within the broader statistical domain of residence permits statistics, the statistics on single permits (SP statistics) refer to non-EU citizens receiving an authorisation to reside and work in a simplified procedure, under the framework of Directive 2011/98/EU on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (Hereinafter “SP Directive”).
A single permit is a combined title within a single administrative act encompassing the right for non-EU citizens to legally work and reside in an EU Member State). Data on single permits cover most permits issued for work under national and EU law, but also permits issued for other reasons where the holder has the right to work.
Ireland and Denmark are not bound by Directive 2011/98/EU and this directive is not applicable for EFTA countries.
Data source
Data is based on administrative sources, provided mainly by the Ministries of Interior or related immigration agencies. Generally, the dissemination of data occurs in July of the year following the reference year, contingent on the availability and quality of the data.
See the Annex 1 Residence Permits Technical Guidelines including the guidelines on SP statistics.
Starting from 2025, the residence permits and EU directives data collection now includes six metadata files in total. Countries are required to submit six distinct files. For those that have not yet provided the updated six files, the previous metadata format, included in the annex of this metadata file (Annex 2), remains available as a reference.
23 January 2025
A ‘Single Permit’ should be understood as a residence permit that meets the following cumulative three main conditions (for each permit):
results from single application procedure (as defined under article 2(d) Directive 2011/98/EU);
includes the right to reside;
includes the right to work legally.
Single application procedure means any procedure leading, on the basis of a single application made by a third-country national, or by his or her employer, for the authorisation of residence and work in the territory of a Member State, to a decision ruling on that application for the single permit.
Main reason refers to the main reason to reside in the Member State Territory when the Single Permit was granted.
First permit versus change of status and renewal - If the time gap between the expiry of the previous permit and the start of the validity of the new permit is shorter than 6 months the new permit should be regarded as a renewal or as a change of status permit (see the categories from below).
Renewed is considered the residence permits issued in maximum 6 months from the time when the previous permit expires and the main reason of immigration status is the same as in the previous residence permit (a new permit was issued with the same immigration reason).
The statistics on SP refers to the number of persons (third-country nationals) who have been granted a 'Single Permit'.
See also point 3.6.
SP Directive shall apply to third-country nationals who have been granted a Single Permit, taking into account the following cumulative three main conditions (for each permit):
third-country national applying to reside in country for work;
third-country national admitted to country for other purposes (EU or national law) , who are allowed to work and holding a permit in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002;
third-country nationals already admitted for purpose of work (national or EU law)” (Art 3 (1) Directive 2011/98/EU).
EU Member States, except Denmark and Ireland.
Ireland and Denmark are not bound by Directive 2011/98/EU and this directive is not applicable for EFTA countries.
Calendar year.
Under the framework of the Directive 2011/98/EU and Council Regulation (CE) No 862 of 11 July 2007, the SP statistics are based mainly on administrative registers, and therefore it is expected that there is a high accuracy of the overall resulting statistics. However, the final accuracy of the data depends on the precision of the underlying administrative systems.
The national metadata file gives more details on accuracy at the national level. For example, the absence of certain detailed categories in the statistical system could lead to specific accuracy problems.
Units of measure is the absolute number of persons receiving the single permit under the framework of Directive 2011/98/EU.
List of EU aggregates used:
EU28 aggregate refers to European Union before the Brexit. This aggregate covers the following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, UK.
EU27_2019 aggregate refers to European Union (27 countries without the United Kingdom). This aggregate covers the following countries: BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE.
EU aggregates are calculated only if all the Member States from the aggregate are available.
Most of the statistics are based on administrative data sources only. Data are compiled from the administrative records of the national authorities, mainly the Ministries of Interior or immigration agencies.
Annual.
Data should be supplied to Eurostat no later than 6 months after the end of the reference period.
Some administrative differences still exist between the Member States due to the national specific EU Directive transposition and particular institutional configuration.
For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the countries please see the national metadata files.
SP statistics should be compiled based on the same reference methodology, and the outputs should be comparable between years. Due to ongoing methodological improvements or revisions to administrative systems that may occur at different reference periods, Member States may apply slightly different processing rules between the years for certain permit categories. For the analytical purposes and comparisons between the years, please see the national metadata files.
When a change in the standards for defining and observing a variable over time causes a break in the time series, Eurostat uses the flag "b" to signal this change between years.
