VISA ATLASWork visas & talent mobility
From→ToFind a corridor EN
☰

First residence permits for work in Europe

Europe · first permits for remunerated activities

Work permits, 2025
1,316,808
Change on the previous year
+15.8%
Share of all first permits
33.5%
Member states reporting
31
Data as at 24 Oct 2026
IX<XXXFIRST<RESIDENCE<PERMITS<FOR<WO<<<<<<<<
EU<WOR1<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<8

Work permits by year

First residence permits issued for remunerated activities, all reporting member states.

First permits for work

690k1.38M2008201020122014201620182020202220242025
690k1.38M2008201120142017202020232025
Data table
2008654,579
2009538,688
2010676,503
2011423,373
2012393,767
2013446,916
2014477,065
2015607,305
2016754,387
2017922,394
20181,003,705
20191,212,139
2020953,666
20211,379,995
20221,288,530
20231,298,301
20241,136,750
20251,316,808
By type, 2025
  1. EU Blue Card37,253
  2. Highly skilled workers (national schemes)71,252
  3. Researchers24,714
  4. Other paid activities1,183,589
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Member states

First permits for work by type, 2025.

Member stateAll workEU Blue CardHighly skilled workers (national schemes)ResearchersSeasonal workersOther paid activities
Poland318,1863,9814662240313,515
Portugal240,52361,5402060238,771
Spain115,0406588,5421,5580104,282
Germany108,09120,52112,7105,790069,070
Romania60,840242048060,550
Italy57,3628550985055,522
France50,8482,1506976,761041,240
Hungary48,5203,1405,772229039,379
Croatia47,382000047,382
Lithuania42,0302,314047039,669
Cyprus25,168173,86570021,216
Netherlands20,67333610,4222,54607,369
Czechia17,7703720544016,854
Ireland16,75906,004356010,399
Malta16,2899503016,191
Denmark16,14906,2821,07908,788
Slovenia13,953108099013,746
Slovakia13,26314044013,205
Bulgaria12,596449038012,109
Switzerland12,580000012,580
Greece12,046133065011,848
Sweden11,2901294,2661,19005,705
Finland9,2111359221,11607,038
Norway7,99202,8205605,116
Belgium7,3921322,15773604,367
Austria7,1266154,34872101,442
Latvia4,15189361304,013
Luxembourg1,931719011001,102
Estonia1,09843168460841
Iceland459020710251
Liechtenstein9002833029
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Citizenships

Citizenship of the permit holders, 2025.

All work permits
  1. Ukraine217,501
  2. Brazil110,257
  3. India103,978
  4. Belarus83,724
  5. Nepal71,174
  6. Philippines52,026
  7. Morocco42,417
  8. Colombia38,659
  9. China33,853
  10. Bangladesh29,662
  11. Türkiye27,753
  12. Pakistan26,086
  13. Uzbekistan22,937
  14. Serbia21,656
  15. United States21,113
  16. Bosnia and Herzegovina18,582
  17. Russia18,487
  18. Egypt17,686
  19. Tunisia17,302
  20. Peru16,660
Highly skilled workers (national schemes)
  1. India11,982
  2. China7,613
  3. United Kingdom4,398
  4. Ukraine4,083
  5. Türkiye4,018
  6. United States3,729
  7. Russia3,538
  8. Brazil2,229
  9. South Africa1,757
  10. Colombia1,752
  11. Iran1,653
  12. Philippines1,389
  13. South Korea1,371
  14. Japan1,146
  15. Pakistan1,118
Researchers
  1. China4,927
  2. India4,317
  3. Brazil1,560
  4. United States1,490
  5. Iran1,269
  6. United Kingdom850
  7. Türkiye797
  8. Pakistan577
  9. Russia570
  10. Japan559
  11. Morocco492
  12. Tunisia408
  13. Mexico402
  14. Canada387
  15. South Korea386
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2025

Single permits

Combined work and residence permits under the Single Permit Directive, first grants (not broken down by citizenship).

First single permits, 2024
  1. France345,587
  2. Spain311,126
  3. Poland103,946
  4. Croatia97,353
  5. Germany78,672
  6. Italy71,003
  7. Hungary56,542
  8. Romania55,016
  9. Finland46,507
  10. Greece34,943
  11. Sweden31,424
  12. Austria24,962
  13. Cyprus24,783
  14. Slovenia18,074
  15. Malta14,520
  16. Slovakia13,488
  17. Czechia11,445
  18. Latvia8,595
  19. Belgium8,051
  20. Bulgaria5,953

First single permits

891k1.78M2013201520172019202120232025
891k1.78M20132016201920222025
Data table
2013349,427
2014506,970
2015725,620
2016755,539
2017848,550
20181,026,649
20191,283,008
2020988,864
20211,048,770
20221,415,932
20231,455,946
20241,375,237
20251,782,976
Source: Eurostat (migr_resfirst, migr_resbc11, migr_acq, educ_uoe_mobs02, migr_eirfs, migr_pop1ctz), CC BY 4.0Data as at 2024

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