Morocco Third in EU First Residence Permits in 2025 With Over 202,000

Marrakech – Morocco ranked third among non-EU nationalities receiving first residence permits in the European Union in 2025, according to Eurostat data published this month.

Moroccan citizens obtained 202,054 permits, or 5.2% of the EU total. Only Ukraine, with 335,096 permits (8.7%), and India, with 227,577 (5.9%), stood higher.

Family was the leading reason for permits granted to Moroccans, at 47.9%, followed by employment at 20.9%, education at 20.8%, and other reasons at 10.4%.

Spain was their most common destination, issuing 43.8% of all first permits given to Moroccan citizens. That pattern reflects both geographical proximity and the historical and linguistic links between Morocco and its northern neighbor.

Moroccans were also the largest single group to receive permits for family-related reasons across the EU. More than half of those family permits, 51.7%, were issued in Spain, followed by Italy at 24.7% and France at 11.6%. In education, Morocco was the second-largest group of recipients, with Spain again first (41.5%), France next (34.5%), and Germany third (13.4%).

Morocco’s presence in Europe extends well beyond new arrivals. At the end of 2025, Moroccan citizens held the highest number of valid residence permits of any non-EU nationality, at 2.2 million. Turkish citizens followed with 2.0 million and Ukrainians with 1.7 million.

Across the EU, 27.8 million valid permits were held by non-EU citizens, with family reunification the main reason at 32.4%.

These figures sit within a broader rise. In 2025, EU countries issued around 3.9 million first residence permits to non-EU citizens, a 10.1% increase, or 355,350 more permits, compared with 2024. That was the highest level since records began in 2008.

Employment was the main reason for issuing new permits, at 33.6%, or 1.3 million. Family reasons came second at 28.1%, followed by other reasons, including international protection, at 22.8%, and education at 15.5%.

Compared with 2024, employment permits rose 16.1%, and family permits 14.1%, while education permits gained 9.0%. Only the category of other reasons fell, by 0.9%.

Five countries issued almost two-thirds of all first permits. Spain led with 635,438 permits (16.5%), ahead of Germany (605,292; 15.7%), Poland (467,314; 12.1%), Italy (433,099; 11.2%), and France (377,462; 9.8%). Together they accounted for 65.2% of the EU total.

The overall rise was uneven across the bloc. Portugal recorded the largest relative increase, at 154.9%, from 121,872 permits in 2024 to 310,639 in 2025, followed by Romania (30.7%), Italy (25.0%), and Slovakia (24.9%). Croatia saw the sharpest drop, at 43.3%, ahead of Greece (20.6%) and Austria (15.5%).

Destinations often tracked proximity and history. Poland was the main entry point for work, drawing mainly Ukrainians and Belarusians, and it issued 72.0% of all permits given to Ukrainians and 87.1% of those given to Belarusians.

Historical and linguistic ties channeled Venezuelans, Colombians, and Peruvians toward Spain, Moroccans and Algerians toward France, and Brazilians toward Portugal, which issued 67.9% of permits granted to Brazilian citizens.

The data cover first residence permits issued during 2025 to non-EU citizens. People benefiting from temporary protection, mainly those who left Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, are not included in these statistics.

Read also: Moroccans Among Top 3 Recipients of EU Citizenship in 2024