Children in migration - residence permits for family reasons

Data extracted: 8 November 2024.

Planned article update: November 2025.

Highlights

In 2023, around 374 000 first residence permits for family reasons were issued in the EU to children aged less than 18 years who were not EU citizens. Among these children, 49% were aged less than 5 years.

Moroccan, Indian and Albanian were the 3 most common non-EU citizenships in 2023 for first residence permits delivered for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years.

First residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas) and (demo_pjan)

Among all migrants, children are a particularly vulnerable group in need of special attention. This article presents recent developments in relation to the number of children who are non-EU citizens with a first residence permit issued for family reasons.

This article forms part of the online publication Children in migration - facts and figures that also provides a range of complementary demographic and migration characteristics of children and statistics on asylum applicants under the age of 18.

Key findings

In 2023, around 374 000 children (aged less than 18 years) who were non-EU citizens, were issued first residence permits in the EU for reasons related to family formation and reunification. This represented 63% of all first permits issued to children in the EU. Among those children, 49% were aged less than five years.

In relative terms, the number of first residence permits issued to children for family-related reasons corresponds to a ratio of 468 per 100 000 of the EU's child population under 18 years. Among the EU countries, the ratio was highest in Cyprus (1 723 per 100 000 children under 18), Luxembourg (1 430) and Slovenia (1 242), Spain (1 048) and Finland (1 016). By contrast, the least ratio was observed in Romania (41), Ireland (17) and France (2).

In absolute terms, the EU countries that issued the highest number of family-related permits to children were Germany (24% of the EU total), Spain (23%) and Italy (18%).

32% of children under 18 with first residence permits issued for family-related reasons were citizens of an Asian country, 28% were European (non-EU), 24% were citizens of an African country, 11% were Central and South American and 2% were North American.

By individual country of citizenship, Morocco accounted for 11% of the total number of first residence permits issued to children for family-related reasons, making it the main country of citizenship, followed by India (6%) and Albania (5%).

The top 3 flows of children aged less than 18 years with a family-related first permit were between Morocco and Spain (28 300 children), Syria and Germany (13 400), and Albania and Italy (10 600).

Latest information for the EU

In 2023, the total number of first residence permits issued in the EU for family formation and reunification reasons to children aged less than 18 years was 373 936 (excluding Malta and Slovakia for which data is not available). First residence permits issued for family reasons represented 63.1% of all first permits issued to children in the EU. Another 218 995 first permits were issued to children for reasons other than family reasons including 23 737 for education-related reasons and 193 839 for other reasons^[1].

In 2023, children aged less than 5 years accounted for almost a half (49.4%) of the number of first residence permits issued in the EU for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years. The share of males (52.0%) was somewhat higher than that of females (48.0%).

Figure 1: Number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years, EU, 2023
(in thousands)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

In 2023, the EU countries which issued the most residence permits for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years were Germany (24.3% of the EU total), Spain (22.6%) and Italy (18.1%) (Table 1).

The number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years relative to the population aged less than 18 years gives an indicator in relative terms of the weight of first residence permits delivered for family reasons to children. In 2023, this ratio averaged 468 per 100 000 people aged less than 18 years in the EU. This ratio was more than double the EU average in Finland, Spain, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Cyprus, for which the highest ratio was observed (1 723). In three EU countries – Romania, Ireland and France – this ratio was less than 100 first permits per 100 000; it should be noted that France (where the lowest value of 2 per 100 000 was recorded), generally does not issue residence permits to children aged less than 18 years.

Table 1 also shows the share of children aged less than 5 years among all children aged less than 18 years having been issued with first residence permits for family reasons. In the EU, this averaged 49.4% in 2023. By far the highest share for this indicator was observed in Czechia (64.3%), Belgium (62.5%), Sweden (62.2%) and Lithuania (61.9%). Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Germany were the other EU countries to record shares above the EU average. By contrast, the lowest share was observed in Ireland, Portugal (14.5% each) and France (0.3%).

Table 1: First residence permits issued for family reasons to children, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas) and (demo_pjan)

Developments during the period from 2014 to 2023

This section focuses on first residence permits granted to children under 15 years for family reasons, as data for the age group 15-17 is only available for the years 2021 to 2023. To enhance comparability across different time periods and among EU countries, the data is presented as a ratio per 100 000 people under 15 years of age. The EU total for each year is calculated based on available EU country data for that year; the data on the population aged less than 15 years used as the denominator for this ratio are calculated based on the same availability of EU countries as for the data on first residence permits.

Figure 2 shows that the ratio for first residence permits issued in the EU to children for family reasons followed an upward path from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, there was a sharp fall, at least in part explained by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, for example on international travel. In 2021, the ratio rebounded to a level higher than that observed in 2019. In 2023, the ratio rose to the highest level since the beginning of the presented time series. This means more children got residence permits for family reasons in the EU in 2023 than in any year since 2014. Over the whole period shown in Figure 2, this ratio ranged between a low of 267 permits per 100 000 people aged less than 15 years and a high of 509 permits.

Figure 2: Number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 15 years relative to the population aged less than 15 years, EU, 2014–2023
(per 100 000 people aged less than 15 years)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas) and (demo_pjangroup)

Figure 3 shows maximum, minimum, average and latest number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 15 years relative to the population aged less than 15 years over the period 2014 to 2023.

The differences between the maximum and minimum values recorded between 2014 and 2023 in Sweden (a range of 851 permits per 100 000 people) and Slovenia (839) were more than 3 times as high as the range recorded for the EU average (242 per 100 000); an even greater range was observed for Cyprus (1 618 per 100 000).

The highest average ratios, at least 3 times as high as the EU average (380 per 100 000), were recorded in Luxembourg and Sweden. By contrast, the lowest average ratios were observed in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Ireland, Romania, and France; in all of these, the national average was less than a quarter of the EU average.

Figure 3: Average, maximum, minimum and latest number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 15 years relative to the population aged less than 15 years, 2014–2023
(per 100 000 people aged less than 15 years)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas) and (demo_pjangroup)

Table 2 provides details of the number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children under the age of 15 in relation to the population under the age of 15, per 100 000 persons under the age of 15 in the EU, individual EU and EFTA countries in each year from 2014 to 2023, with the maximum, minimum and national average over the period.

Table 2: Number of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 15 years relative to the population aged less than 15 years, 2014–2023
(per 100 000 people aged less than 15 years)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas) and (demo_pjangroup)

Analysis of countries of citizenship: EU overview

Figure 4 provides a summary analysis (at a continental level) of countries of citizenship of children aged less than 18 years issued first residence permits for family reasons in the EU in 2023. The total was 373 936, of which Asia (32.2%), Europe (28.0%) and Africa (24.4%) collectively accounted for 84.5%. Central and South America and the Caribbean (10.9%) and North America (2.3%) collectively accounted for 13.2%.

Figure 4: Distribution by continent of citizenship of first residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years, EU, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

Table 3 provides similar information to that in Figure 4 but includes also the top 5 countries of citizenship for the four continents with the largest shares.

For Africa, the main country of citizenship was Morocco; its citizens aged less than 18 years received 39 889 first residence permits for family reasons in the EU in 2023, equivalent to 10.7% of the overall total.
For Asia, India (6.4% of the total for all countries of citizenship) was the country with the highest number of citizens aged less than 18 years having been issued a first residence permit for family reasons in the EU in 2023; the next highest was Syria (4.9%).
For Europe, Albania (5.1%), Russia (4.5%) and Ukraine (4.1%) were the 3 main countries whose citizens aged less than 18 years had been issued a first residence permit for family reasons in the EU in 2023.
For Central and South America and the Caribbean, Colombia (1.9%) and Brazil (1.8%) recorded the largest number of its citizens aged less than 18 years having been issued a first residence permit for family reasons in the EU in 2023.

Table 3: First residence permits issued for family reasons to children aged less than 18 years, by main geographical area of citizenship, EU, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

Table 4 shows a list of the countries of citizenship with the highest number of children aged less than 18 years having been granted a first residence permit for family reasons in the EU in 2023. Among the top 20 countries of citizenship, there were 7 European countries, 6 Asian countries and 3 African countries.

Table 4: Top 20 countries of citizenship of children aged less than 18 years issued with first residence permits for family reasons, EU, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

EU countries as destinations

Some of the factors that may influence the destination chosen by non-EU citizens who are granted residence permits include:

geographical proximity (for example, a high number of Moroccans sought residence in Spain);
historical and linguistic links (for example, a high number of Brazilians, Angolans and Cape Verdeans sought residence in Portugal);
established migrant networks (for example, a high number of citizens of Türkiye sought residence in Germany).

For the 10 largest countries of citizenship of children aged less than 18 years issued with first residence permits for family reasons, Table 5 shows the 3 largest EU destinations countries in 2023 as well as a residual total for all other EU countries. Table 6 reverses the perspective, showing for each EU country the five main countries of citizenship as well as a residual for all other countries of citizenship. The relative share of the residuals in each of these tables gives an idea of the geographical diversity of flows related to the issuance of first residence permits for family reasons to children between country of citizenship and the host countries.

When looking at the destination of children aged less than 18 years from the top 10 countries of citizenship in Table 5, the category of other EU countries (as the destination) is below one-third in 6 countries of citizenship – Morocco, Albania, Syria, Pakistan, Kosovo^[2] and Türkiye. This indicates that the target destination focuses on a relatively few EU countries. For example, in the case of Syria, it can be noted that the top 3 destinations include Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, each of which received a large share of Syrian asylum applicants during the migration crisis in 2015–2016. By contrast, the levels of the residual category were the highest for Indian and Russian children (respectively, 43.9% and 42.4%), indicating a more diversified breakdown by country of destination.

Table 5: Top 10 countries of citizenship of children aged less than 18 years issued with first residence permits for family reasons and their main destinations, EU, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

By applying the same reasoning based upon the level of the other countries category, Table 6 provides information on the diversity of the citizenship of children issued with a first residence permit for family reasons in each EU country.

In 8 EU countries – Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden – the share of the residual category was above half (50%).
By contrast, in 6 EU countries – Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia – the share of the residual category was below one-quarter (25%).

Table 6 also reflects some specific links (such as economic, historical or proximity). For example, in Poland a high share of the first residence permits issued to children aged less than 18 years for family reasons were for Ukrainians (70.1% of the Polish total). Equally, there were large shares for Russians (69.1%) in Cyprus, or Albanians (46.9%) in Greece.

Table 6: Top 5 countries of citizenship of children aged less than 18 years issued first residence permits for family reasons, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfas)

Source data for tables and graphs

Children in migration – residence permits for family reasons: tables and figures

Data sources

Residence permits statistics

The statistics used for this article are provided to Eurostat by the responsible authorities in each of the EU countries and EFTA countries, principally ministries of the interior / home affairs or various immigration agencies. The data are based entirely on administrative sources and are supplied to Eurostat as part of an annual residence permits data collection exercise according to the provisions of Article 6 of EU regulation 862/2007 on community statistics on migration and international protection. EU regulation 216/2010 provides the list and definition of reasons for permits being issued.

Before the 2021 reference year, the analysis by age of the number of first residence permits was reported by EU and EFTA countries on a voluntary basis. Starting with the 2021 reference period, there were several improvements in the data collection, including the methodological aspects. These changes were introduced through the implementation of EU regulation 851/2020 amending EU regulation 862/2007.

Methodological notes

Residence permits data collection refers to residence permits as any authorisation issued by the authorities of an EU country allowing a third-country national (non-EU citizen) to stay legally on its territory. Family reasons for residence permits include family formation (such as marriages or adoptions) and reunification with family members already residing lawfully in an EU country.

The EU totals presented in this article are calculated as the sum of the available data for EU countries. Data for Malta and Slovakia are not available due to derogations.

The data for France are relatively low in value as, generally (with some exceptions), France does not issue residence permits to children aged less than 18 years and the minors who arrive can stay in France under the permit issued to an accompanying adult person.

The "u" flag in Irish residence permit data highlights limited data quality reported by the Irish authorities. For the process of generating resident permits data that involves both the Irish Police and the Department of Justice an old information system is currently being used. The current system's limitations, which misses unique identifier of persons, require manual data checks, which may lead to potential quality issues. According to Irish authorities a comprehensive modernization programme of the information systems to ensure more accurate data management is in progress.

Context

The term 'children in migration' covers all children (persons aged less than 18 years) who are a) not citizens of an EU country and b) forcibly displaced or migrate to and within the EU. They may be with their (extended) family, with a non-family member (separated children) or alone; they may or may not be seeking asylum.

In recent years, the number of children in migration arriving in the EU, many of whom are unaccompanied, has increased dramatically, particularly in 2015 and 2016. Besides asylum applicants, a substantial number of non-EU children migrate with a residence permit for family reasons.

Protecting children is primarily about upholding European values of respect for human rights, dignity and solidarity. This is why protecting all children in migration, regardless of status and at all stages of migration, is a priority. The EU countries and the EU, with the support of the relevant EU agencies (European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)), have been active in this area for many years. The existing EU policies and legislation provide a solid framework for the protection of the rights of children in migration covering all aspects including reception conditions, the treatment of their applications and integration.

The protection of children in migration starts by addressing the root causes which lead so many to embark on perilous journeys to Europe. This means addressing the persistence of violent and often protracted conflicts, forced displacements, inequalities in living standards, limited economic opportunities, and access to basic services through sustained efforts to eradicate poverty and deprivation and to develop integrated child protection systems in non-EU countries. The EU and the countries have stepped up efforts to establish a comprehensive external policy framework to reinforce cooperation with partner countries in mainstreaming child protection at global, regional and bilateral levels. The EU is fully committed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls for a world in which all children grow up free from violence and exploitation, have their rights protected and have access to quality education and health care. The 2015 Valletta Summit's political declaration and its action plan called for the prevention of and the fight against irregular migration, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings (with a specific focus on women and children).

In the EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child renew the EU's commitment to promote and protect the indivisibility of the rights of the child in its relations with non-EU countries, including countries of origin or transit. In this context, the Council reaffirmed the need to protect all refugee and migrant children, regardless of their status, and give primary consideration at all times to the best interests of the child, including unaccompanied children and those separated from their families, in full compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols. In April 2021, the European Commission presented a new EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021–2025).

Within the European Commission, the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs is responsible for immigration policy, whereas the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers is in charge of child policy. All information regarding the EU's migration and asylum policies can be accessed on the European Commission's website. Recent developments for the EU's overall immigration policy can be found in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum adopted by the European Parliament in April 2024 and by the Council in May 2024.

Notes

↑ Further, 1 419 permits were reported as issued for employment reasons mainly in Poland, Italy and Hungary. However, this reporting reflects certain limitations of the administrative registration systems and shall not be considered as permits issued for the purpose of work, but rather, concern children accompanying adult persons issued permits for employment-related reasons.
↑ This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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[1] Further, 1 419 permits were reported as issued for employment reasons mainly in Poland, Italy and Hungary. However, this reporting reflects certain limitations of the administrative registration systems and shall not be considered as permits issued for the purpose of work, but rather, concern children accompanying adult persons issued permits for employment-related reasons.

[2] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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