Poland issued the absolute majority of residence permits to Ukrainians
As 'Russkaya Germaniya' notes, compared to 2008, the issuance of residence permits decreased by 0.9%. Experts explain this situation primarily by the reduction in the number of work permits issued to citizens from non-EU countries: 800,000 in 2008 and only 600,000 in 2014. Currently, almost a third of residence permits (29.5%) are issued 'for family reasons' – for example, for family reunification. Another 24.8% are for taking up a specific job, 25.0% for 'other reasons', and 20.7% for education.
The most generous in terms of issuing coveted stickers into foreigners' passports last year were the British: 567,800 permits (24.6% of the EU total). In second place unexpectedly were the Poles with 355,400 permits (15.4%), followed by Germany (237,600 or 10.3%), then France, Italy and Spain, which issued about 200,000 residence permits each.
Interestingly, the most active in terms of obtaining residence permits in the EU in 2014 were citizens of Ukraine: 302,772 Ukrainians were able to go through the difficult legalization procedure in the European Union, which accounts for 13.1% of all new residence permit holders.
Far behind the citizens of the 'independent' country are Americans (199,244), in third place are Chinese (169,657), followed by people from India (134,881). In seventh place on this list are Belarusians (80,442), and in eighth place are Russians (73,821).
The reasons for moving to European Union countries for citizens of different countries vary quite significantly. Thus, 68.2% of residence permits for Ukrainians were issued for employment reasons. Most Chinese and almost half of Brazilians obtain residence permits for education. Moroccans, Turks, and Russians enter the EU for family reasons.
The absolute majority of residence permits for Ukrainians were issued by Poles – 247,397 documents. 12,867 Ukrainian citizens went to the Czech Republic, 1,592 to Slovakia. Americans prefer to settle in the United Kingdom (136,202), and most Russians obtain residence permits in the Czech Republic (6,040), Latvia (5,104), Bulgaria (3,307), Finland (3,496). In 2014, 29,757 Syrians, 18,934 Turkish citizens, and 14,603 Chinese moved legally to the Federal Republic.
As analysts emphasize, this data refers to figures calculated before the start of the all-European migration crisis. Experts are confident that this year's indicators will differ significantly from previous data. Especially since authorities have already reached an agreement on quotas for the distribution of new refugees arriving in EU countries.