Statistics Explained

Residence permits – statistics on authorisations to reside and work


Data extracted: 18 December 2023. Planned article update: December 2024.

Highlights

In 2022, 3.6 million non-EU citizens obtained the right to both reside and work in the EU through the single permit administrative procedure.

France, Spain, Italy and Portugal together issued 63 % of the single permits recorded in 2022, giving the right to both reside and work in the EU to non-EU citizens.

82 000 highly qualified non-EU workers received an EU Blue Card in 2022, giving them comprehensive socio-economic rights and a residence in the EU.

[[File:Residence permits - statistics on authorisations to reside and work-interactive MIGR2023.xlsx]]

Single permits issued, 2017–2022

The European Union (EU) Single Permit and EU Blue Card Directives are among several EU directives that have been designed to sustain a more flexible migrant admission system while enabling migrant workers to make better use of their skills in the EU labour market. The Single Permit consists of a single application procedure for non-EU citizens, giving them the right to both residence and work, while guaranteeing them a set of rights. The EU Blue Card refers to the admission of highly-skilled workers from non-EU countries.

Eurostat presents data related to these two EU directives in this article:

References to other statistics are included in the analyses in order to present a wider assessment of these two specific application procedures (see the Data sources section for a summary of these different sources).

Full article

Single procedure for non-EU citizens to reside and work in the EU

A record of 3.6 million single permits issued in the EU in 2022

In 2022, 3.6 million single permits were issued, with 16.8 % more than in 2022 when 3.1 million were recorded. This represents the highest value since the Single Permit Directive was adopted - see Figure 1. About 2.6 million single permits were issued in the EU in 2017 and slightly less in 2018 (2.7 % less permits issued). Thereafter, the number oscillated for two years, in 2019 (increase of 17.4 %) and 2020 (decrease of 10.8 %), reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and related containment measures. In the next two years, a continued increase was recorded with 14.0 % in 2021 and 16.8 % in 2023.

The majority of single permits issued in 2022 represent extensions of an existing residence permit

The developments between 2017 and 2022 were mainly influenced by two sub-categories of single permits: a) renewed single permits (which represented between 53.6 % and 62.4 % of the total every year); b) first single permits (which represented between 31.9 % and 45.7 % of the total every year).

In 2022, around half of the single permits issued in the EU represented extensions of residence permits (54.3 % or 1.9 million), which corresponded either to renewal (49.6 %) or change of status (4.7 %) of existing residence permits (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: F1 Single permits issued, 2017–2022
(million)
Source: Eurostat (migr_ressing)


In 2022, More than 6 out of 10 (62.7 %) single permits in the EU were issued by four Member States: France (980 000 permits, 27.4 % of the total), Spain (489 000, 13.7 %), Italy (434 000, 12.1 %) and Portugal (338 000, 9.5 %) – see Table 1.


Table 1: Single permits issued, by type of decision, 2020–2022
Source: Eurostat (migr_ressing)

75.8 % of single permits issued for family and employment reasons

In 2022, 7 in 10 (75.8 %) single permits issued in the EU were granted primarily for employment and family reasons (48.8 % and 27.1 %, respectively). 8.6 % of single permits were issued for education reasons, leaving a residual share of 15.5 % covered by other reasons.

The vast majority (89.5 %) of the single permits issued in the EU in 2022 were granted with a validity of 12 months or over. The dominance of single permits with a validity of 12 months or over was recorded for each of the main reasons– see Figure 2.

Figure 2: Single permits issued, by reason and period of validity, 2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_ressing)

EU Blue Cards issued to highly qualified non-EU citizens

Across the EU, the total number of EU Blue Cards granted to non-EU citizens rose from 24 305 in 2017 to 52 127 in 2019. It then fell to 50 234 in 2020 and increased again to 67 730 in 2021 (+ 35 %) and to 81 851 in 2022 (+21 %). It should be noted that the coverage (of EU Member States) included in this total changed over time – see Figure 3.

Family members of EU Blue Card holders are also entitled to receive residence permits and benefit from work and mobility rights. In 2022, 40 569 residence permits were issued in the EU for family members of EU Blue Card holders. Note that the coverage of the data shown in Figure 3 changes over time and is not the same for the two indicators.:

Figure 3: Blue Cards granted and admitted family members, 2017–2022 (number)
(number)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resbc1) and (migr_resbc2)

Germany issued 63 200 EU Blue Cards in 2022 (77 % of all EU Blue Cards issued)

Table 1 shows that, in 2022, the majority of EU Blue Cards issued in the EU were issued in four countries: Germany (63 242, 77.3 % of the total), Poland (4 831, 6.0 %), Lithuania (3 924 or 4.8 %) and France (3 876, 4.7 %). Conversely, eight EU countries issued less than 100 EU Blue Cards in 2022: Sweden (83 EU Blue Cards), Spain (58), Estonia (36), Portugal (27), Greece (22), Malta (21), Hungary (18), and Slovakia (14) and no EU Blue Cards were issued in Cyprus.

Table 2: EU Blue Cards and linked family residence permits issued, 2020–2022
Source: Eurostat (migr_resbc1) and (migr_resbc2)

Citizens of India granted the highest number of EU Blue Cards in the EU in 2022

The top 10 countries whose citizens were granted EU Blue Cards in 2022 (see Table 3) accounted for about two thirds (67.1 %) of the 81 851 cards that were issued in the EU in 2022. Of these, 19 896 EU Blue Cards were granted to citizens of India, which represented about one quarter of all EU Blue Cards issued in the EU (24.3 %). The next largest numbers and shares were for citizens of Russia (7 606 EU Blue Cards, 9.3 % of the total), Belarus (5 541, 6.8 %), Türkiye (5 234, 6.4 %) and Iraq (3 618, 4.4 %).

Among the top 10 countries of citizenship for EU Blue Cards granted in 2022, the ones for which the issue of these cards was most concentrated in a single EU Member State (i.e. Germany) were Iraq (99.9 %), China (89.8 %), and India (88.2 %).

Table 3: Top 10 countries whose citizens were granted EU Blue Cards, by main issuing EU Member States, 2022
Source: Eurostat (migr_resbc1)

Figure 4 shows that the top five countries whose citizens were granted the most EU Blue Cards in 2022 recorded an increase in 2021 and 2022: India, Russia, Belarus, Türkiye and Iraq.

Figure 4: Top 10 countries whose citizens were granted EU Blue Cards, 2018–2022
(number)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resbc1)

In 2022, the number of first permits issued as EU Blue Cards was 16.3 % of the number of all first permits granted to highly-skilled workers

This section provides information on first residence permits issued to non-EU citizens as highly-skilled workers, which comprises two categories:

  • first permits issued as EU Blue Cards;
  • first permits issued for highly-skilled workers under national legislation.

The share of permits as EU Blue Card on all first permits issued for highly-skilled workers is shown in Figure 5 and it highlights the significant role of EU Blue Cards in attracting highly-skilled workers to the EU.

In 2017, the EU Blue Card scheme accounted for 22.3 % of all first permits issued to highly-skilled workers (either as EU Blue Cards or under national legislation). The share rose each year to a peak of 28.8 % in 2019 however decreased to 19.5% in 2020 and 14.3 % in 2021. The EU Blue Card scheme was increasingly used as a means for highly-skilled workers to enter the EU labour market up until 2019; the end of this development coincided with the start of the COVID-19 crisis and its related containment measures.

Figure 5: First permits issued as EU Blue Cards as a share of all first permits issued for highly-skilled workers, 2017–2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_resocc)

Data sources

Statistics on residence permits cover non-EU citizens who receive a residence permit or an authorisation to reside in one of the EU Member States. In practice, this includes:

  • citizens of non-EU countries (apart from any who have a dual citizenship which is of one of the EU Member States)
  • stateless people.

It relates to statistical information that is based on Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 862 of 11 July 2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection and the compilation of statistics on foreign workers. This legal framework refers to the initial collection of information on residence permits (which started in 2008), but also provides a general framework for newer data collections based on specific EU legal acts, in other words, statistics on Single Permits and statistics on EU Blue Cards.

Based on the EU Single Permit Directive, a single permit consists of 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, as well as establishing a common set of rights (for example concerning working conditions). As such, the single permit is a procedure and a set of rights that apply to citizens of non-EU countries:

(a) who apply to reside in a Member State for the purpose of work;

(b) who have been admitted to a Member State for purposes other than work in accordance with EU or national law, who are allowed to work and who hold a residence permit;

(c) who have been admitted to a Member State for the purpose of work in accordance with EU or national law.

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.

The statistics on single permits are available starting from the year 2013. The dataset provides breakdown by reason for issuing the permit, type of decision (first permit, changed status or renewed), duration, citizenship and occupation.

Among the 27 EU Member States, 25 have transposed the EU Single Permit Directive into national law; the directive does not apply in Denmark or Ireland. Depending on the reference year, the data refer at most to 25 Member States. Consequently, the developments over time reported in this article reflect, to some extent, the progressive transposition of the directive by the Member States and the delivery of statistics thereafter.

Based on the EU Blue Card Directive adopted in 2009, the EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for non-EU/EEA nationals and is linked to highly-qualified employment. The EU Blue Card provides comprehensive socio-economic rights and a residence in the EU. Applicants should present a valid work contract or a binding job offer for highly-qualified employment with a duration of at least one year in the EU Member State concerned. The standard period of validity of the EU Blue Card is between one and four years. Denmark and Ireland are not subject to the EU Blue Card Directive and therefore the data of (at most) 25 of the Member States contribute to the totals presented in this section of the article.

Since the 2008 reference year, Eurostat has collected statistics on residence permits on three main topics: 1) first permits 2) change of reason permits and 3) all residence permits valid at the end of the year. Newer, complementary data collections – relating to employment reasons – were gradually implemented based on specific EU Directives.

  • In 2010, Eurostat introduced – within the data collection on first permits – the EU Blue Cards category to identify EU Blue Cards which were also considered first permits. Consequently, since 2010, there have been two categories of residence permits related to occupational reasons and referring to highly-skilled workers within the first permit data collection: 1) EU Blue Cards and 2) other highly-skilled workers. Data for these two categories are presented in the article above.
  • In 2012, a separate data collection specifically on EU Blue Cards was introduced. Denmark and Ireland are not subject to the EU Blue Card Directive.
  • The single permits data collection was introduced in 2013 pertaining mainly to the simplified procedure of issuing residence permits. First permits counted in the single permit data collection refer to those first permits which follow a simplified procedure and give the right to work. Denmark and Ireland are not subject to the Single Permit Directive.

For more technical aspects and guidelines in relation to the collection of these statistics, please refer to this file on definitions and methodological concepts.

Context

In order to strengthen the competitiveness, the EU is interested in attracting highly-skilled workers from non-EU countries. With this objective, the EU put in place a specific migration scheme for highly qualified non-EU workers in 2009. This provided a fast-track procedure for issuing a residence and work permit to highly-skilled workers. It is called the EU Blue Card (Council Directive 2009/50/EC on the conditions of entry and residence of nationals of non-EU countries for the purposes of highly qualified employment) and is designed to facilitate access to the EU’s labour market; it also entitles its holders to socio-economic rights, favourable conditions for family reunification and facilitated movement within the EU.

In December 2011, the Single Permit Directive (2011/98/EU) was adopted. It is based on a single application procedure to obtain a single permit that grants the holder the right to both residence and work in the EU, while guaranteeing that non-EU workers should receive equal treatment to that enjoyed by nationals in areas such as working conditions, joining organisations representing workers, education and vocational training, recognition of diplomas, social security, tax benefits, and access to goods and services including procedures for housing and employment advice.

More recently, the rules for the EU Blue Card were amended (Directive (EU) 2021/1883) and will become law in the Member States by the end of 2023. The new scheme will introduce efficient rules for attracting highly skilled workers to the EU, including more flexible admission conditions, enhanced rights and the possibility to move and work more easily between EU Member States. Member States will have to provide detailed statistics on blue cards according to the amended Directive by November 2025.

For further information on these and other measures (seasonal workers and intra-corporate transferees) please refer to the European Commission webpage on labour immigration.

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Residence permits (migr_res)
Residence permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resval)
First permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resfirst)
First permits issued for family reasons by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resfam)
First permits issued for education reasons by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resedu)
First permits issued for remunerated activities by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resocc)
First permits issued for other reasons by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resoth)
Change of immigration status permits by reason and citizenship (migr_reschange)
All valid permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship on 31 December of each year (migr_resvalid)
Long-term residents by citizenship on 31 December of each year (migr_reslong)
Single permits issued by type of decision, length of validity (migr_ressing)
Long-term residents among all non-EU citizens holding residence permits by citizenship on 31 December (%) (migr_resshare)
Long-term residence permits issued during the year (migr_resltr)
First permits issued for family reunification with a beneficiary of protection status (migr_resfrps1)
Permits valid at the end of the year for family reunification with a beneficiary of protection status (migr_resfrps2)
Residence permits by reason, age, sex and citizenship (migr_resage)
First permits by reason, age, sex and citizenship (migr_resfas)
All valid permits by age, sex and citizenship on 31 December of each year (migr_resvas)
Long-term residents by age, sex and citizenship on 31 December of each year (migr_reslas)
Long-term residence permits issued during the year by age, sex and citizenship (migr_resltra)
Change of immigration status permits by age, sex and citizenship (migr_reschst)
EU blue cards (migr_resbcard)
EU blue cards by type of decision, occupation and citizenship (migr_resbc1)
Admitted family members of EU blue card holders by type of decision and citizenship (migr_resbc2)
EU blue card holders and family members by Member State of previous residence (migr_resbc3)
Residence permits for intra-corporate transfer (migr_resictra)
Intra-corporate transferee permits issued, renewed and withdrawn by type of permit, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resict1_1)
Intra-corporate transferee permits issued by type of permit, economic sector and citizenship (migr_resict1_2)
Intra-corporate transferee permits issued by type of permit, length of validity, transferee position and citizenship (migr_resict1_3)
Authorisation for the purpose of the seasonal work (migr_resseaw)
Authorisations for the purpose of seasonal work by status, length of validity, economic sector and citizenship (migr_ressw1_1)
Authorisations issued for the purpose of seasonal work by economic sector, sex and citizenship (migr_ressw2)
Residence permits - Students and Researchers (migr_ressr)
Authorisations for study and research by reason, type of decision, citizenship and length of validity (migr_ressrath)
Authorisations for long-term mobility of researchers by reason, type of decision, citizenship and length of validity (migr_ressrltm)