The citizens of Ukraine continued to receive the highest number of residence permits in the EU in 2017.
Read alsoForbes: Ukrainian immigrants give the Polish government an out on refugees
"In 2017, citizens of Ukraine (662,000 beneficiaries, of whom almost 88% were in Poland) continued to receive the highest number of permits in the EU, ahead of citizens of Syria (223,000, of whom almost two-thirds were in Germany), China including Hong Kong (193,000, of whom almost half in the United Kingdom), India (163,000, of whom 44% in the United Kingdom) and the United States (147,000, of whom over half in the United Kingdom), Morocco (108,000, of whom 41% in Spain) and Afghanistan (87,000, of whom around 61% in Germany). About half of all first residence permits issued in the EU in 2017 were issued to citizens of these seven countries," Eurostat said in a news release.
It is reported in 2017, about 3.1 million first residence permits were issued in the European Union (EU) to non-EU citizens. The number increased almost by 4% (or 112,000) compared with 2016. Employment reasons accounted for almost one-third (32%) of all first residence permits issued in the EU in 2017, family reasons for 26%, education reasons for 17%, and other reasons, including international protection, for 24%.
