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Students and researchers in Europe

Europe · Directive (EU) 2016/801

Authorisations granted, 2025
505,415
Researchers, 2025
28,141
First permits for education, 2025
616,291
Change on the previous year
+6.3%
Data as at 24 Oct 2026
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By purpose

Authorisations granted under the Directive, all reporting member states.

Purpose2019202020212022202320242025
Students110,592177,616269,680353,584387,480403,143443,805
Researchers6,47310,06114,37427,28926,29728,57328,141
Trainees1,7484,4498,47511,37110,32811,0959,035
Job search or business start after studies or research3,4744,6053,99311,48515,49013,3758,861
School pupils (exchange or educational projects)4,4034,73223,5377,4873,56010,9636,381
Researchers' family members2,6752,5325,9497,1904,2884,6095,377
Au pairs2,1178291,7042,5302,4372,4822,270
Volunteers6404248101,0389681,2711,545
European Voluntary Service121112377625631504799
Other volunteering schemes519312433413337767746
By purpose, 2025
  1. Students443,805
  2. Researchers28,141
  3. Trainees9,035
  4. Job search or business start after studies or research8,861
  5. School pupils (exchange or educational projects)6,381
  6. Researchers' family members5,377
  7. Au pairs2,270
  8. Volunteers1,545
  9. European Voluntary Service799
  10. Other volunteering schemes746
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Member states

2025.

Authorisations granted
  1. Germany154,553
  2. France124,808
  3. Spain61,069
  4. Netherlands24,170
  5. Hungary22,202
  6. Sweden15,658
  7. Belgium13,757
  8. Finland12,117
  9. Poland10,550
  10. Portugal9,951
  11. Cyprus9,471
  12. Austria8,397
  13. Slovakia6,720
  14. Romania5,832
  15. Latvia5,504
  16. Lithuania4,674
  17. Czechia4,213
  18. Slovenia2,794
  19. Malta2,568
  20. Bulgaria2,163

First residence permits for education (all schemes)

308k616k2008201020122014201620182020202220242025
308k616k2008201120142017202020232025
Data table
2008235,926
2009239,119
2010242,779
2011250,043
2012270,861
2013296,621
2014313,232
2015311,589
2016343,022
2017370,058
2018413,145
2019424,035
2020295,800
2021414,174
2022488,933
2023562,530
2024566,812
2025616,291
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Citizenships

2025.

Students
  1. India55,229
  2. China36,766
  3. Morocco23,678
  4. Türkiye19,954
  5. United States18,975
  6. Pakistan15,694
  7. Iran14,003
  8. Colombia11,494
  9. Bangladesh11,135
  10. Cameroon11,079
  11. Algeria10,810
  12. Ukraine9,664
  13. Tunisia9,272
  14. South Korea8,278
  15. Russia8,096
Researchers
  1. China5,524
  2. India4,770
  3. Iran1,795
  4. Brazil1,533
  5. United States1,506
  6. Türkiye1,017
  7. Russia866
  8. United Kingdom804
  9. Pakistan722
  10. Japan570
  11. Morocco452
  12. Tunisia441
  13. South Korea439
  14. Mexico423
  15. Canada415
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

More European permit statistics

Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more