In 2024, 3.5 million first-time residence permits were issued in the European Union to non-EU citizens, a decrease of 8.3% compared to 2023. Employment remained the main reason, accounting for 31.9% of the total or a full 1.1 million permits.
But what about Albania? According to data from the European Statistical Agency, during 2024, regarding first permits by reason, duration of validity and citizenship, the EU approved around 66 thousand first permits for Albanian citizens. The vast majority are related to family reasons, with a full 34 thousand permits, while around 2 thousand were granted for studies and around 11 thousand for unspecified reasons.
When compared to other countries in the region, Albania remains at the top in terms of the number of first permits issued. It is followed by Serbia with around 46 thousand permits, while Kosovo and North Macedonia have 38 thousand and 39 thousand permits respectively. Bosnia and Herzegovina has also registered a high number of permits, around 39 thousand, but Montenegro seems to have experienced a significant decrease, with only 3,200 first permits.
The analysis of the reasons for obtaining residence permits shows a different mosaic by nationality. For citizens of Ukraine, Belarus and India, the most frequent reason was employment, accounting for 72.5%, 55.2% and 43.9% respectively. On the other hand, citizens of Afghanistan, Syria and Bangladesh obtained more permits for reasons of international protection, with percentages ranging from 40.8% to 85.4%.
For citizens of Morocco, Colombia and Turkey, family reasons dominated, accounting for up to 46.6% of permits issued, while for citizens of China, studies were the main reason, with 34.1% of permits issued. These data clearly show that the motives for migration vary significantly according to citizenship and the socio-economic situation of the respective countries.
