Europe Issued a Record 3.9 Million Residence Permits in 2025

European Union countries issued 3.9 million new residence permits to non-EU citizens in 2025, a ten percent increase on the previous year and the highest level since records began, according to new data reported by The Local Italy. The figure covers first permits granted across the bloc, not the total stock of permits in force.

The wire item does not yet set out which member states issued the most, and The Local Italy notes the question is open. That gap matters for Italy, which has for years been both a destination and a transit country on the Mediterranean route, and where the legal channels for entry are far narrower than the demand for them.

Residence permits are the administrative face of migration: they are what turns an arrival into a resident with a right to work, study or reunite with family. A record European total therefore describes something more specific than a rise in arrivals — it describes more people moving from a provisional status into a documented one.