Poland ranks third in the EU for number of first residence permits
In 2025, Poland issued 467,314 first residence permits to immigrants from countries outside the European Union. This was the third-highest figure in the EU after Spain and Germany, Notes from Poland reports, citing Eurostat data.
Decline for the fourth consecutive year
Spain issued 635,438 first permits, while Germany issued 605,292. They were followed by Poland, Italy with 433,099 permits, and France with 377,462. In Poland, the number of such documents fell by 4.4% compared with the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline.
In Spain, Germany, Italy and France, by contrast, the number of first permits increased by 13.1%, 11.1%, 25% and 9.2%, respectively. From 2017 to 2022, Poland led the EU for six consecutive years in the absolute number of first permits issued. The peak came in 2021, when the country issued 967,345 such documents.
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Ukrainians received the most permits
In 2025, Ukrainians received 241,126 first permits in Poland, or 51.6% of the total. They were followed by Belarusian citizens, who received 128,468 permits, or 27.5%. The top five also included citizens of Georgia, with 10,249 permits, or 2.2%; India, with 9,230, or 2%; and Turkey, with 7,533, or 1.6%.
Relative to its population, Poland ranked ninth in the EU, with 12.8 permits per thousand residents. Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Lithuania, Ireland, Croatia, Luxembourg and Spain ranked higher. According to the publication, the Polish government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk introduced stricter requirements for foreign workers and students, suspended the right to asylum for migrants who irregularly cross the border from Belarus, and also stepped up deportations of people who committed crimes or entered the country illegally.
