Tengrinews.kz - The issuance of residence permits in the EU to nationals of third countries has reached record levels, with the majority granted for work and family reasons, and a significant portion for humanitarian reasons, according to Euronews.
Tengrinews.kz - The issuance of residence permits in the EU to nationals of third countries has reached record levels, with the majority granted for work and family reasons, and a significant portion for humanitarian reasons, according to Euronews.
In 2023, EU countries issued a record 3.7 million primary residence permits to nationals of third countries, the highest number since data collection began in 2013.
A primary residence permit allows foreign nationals to reside in a country for a specified period and for a specific purpose, such as employment, education, family reasons, or humanitarian grounds.
Eurostat data shows that in 2023, the largest number of permits were granted to Ukrainian nationals (307,313), followed by Belarusians (281,279) and Indians (207,966).
A significant portion of permits were issued to Russians, totaling 116,142. The majority of these were for family reasons.
Work permits accounted for 33.8 percent of the total, followed by family permits (26.4 percent), "humanitarian and other reasons" (25.6 percent), and education permits (14.3 percent).
The highest number of education permits was issued in 2022 (+63,674), with the majority going to Indians (38,157), Chinese (35,620), and Americans (26,821).
Moroccans led the list for family-related permits, accounting for over 50 percent, while Belarusians (148,957), Syrians (127,043), Afghans (97,339), and Ukrainians (53,186) received the most permits for humanitarian reasons.
Earlier, EU leaders discussed a proposal from the European Commission to establish deportation centers beyond the EU at a summit in Brussels.
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