Who moved where in 2025: Europe, Canada and the UK by nationality
91,615 US citizens received a first residence permit in an EU country in 2025 (+13.9% on 2024), and 44,446 British citizens did, according to Eurostat (data updated on 22 October 2026). Here are the official figures for 12 nationalities: first residence permits in the EU and EFTA countries (Eurostat), new permanent residents of Canada (IRCC) and UK work, study and family visas (Home Office).
US citizens · 27 EU countries · 2025: 91,615 first residence permits (+13.9% on 2024)
Source: Eurostat, First permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resfirst), data updated on 22 October 2026, downloaded on 28 October 2026 (definitions). First residence permits, persons. Re-use: Eurostat copyright notice (free re-use with acknowledgement, CC BY 4.0).
By nationality (2025)
Three different measures, never added together: first residence permits in the 27 EU countries and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (Eurostat); new permanent residents of Canada (IRCC); work, study and family visas granted by the UK (Home Office). Tap a column heading to sort.
| Indians | 227,577b | 192,181 | +18.4% | 5,665 | 98,835 | 153,974 | 22,684 |
| Brazilians | 170,356b | 79,849 | +113.3% | 2,526 | 5,115 | 3,207 | 13,188 |
| Chinese citizens | 125,290 | 114,573 | +9.4% | 4,445 | 21,105 | 96,342 | 4,229 |
| Pakistanis | 98,329b | 83,325 | +18.0% | 1,406 | 8,875 | 56,429 | 5,157 |
| Americans | 91,615 | 80,424 | +13.9% | 6,258 | 7,510 | 31,687 | 5,610 |
| Filipinos | 71,280 | 56,423 | +26.3% | 2,686 | 25,235 | 19,340 | 3,087 |
| British people | 44,446 | 44,426 | +0.05% | 4,691 | 3,345 | – | 12,634 |
| Nigerians | 32,039 | 32,154 | −0.4% | 565 | 16,360 | 50,203 | 3,121 |
| Canadians | 15,738 | 15,410 | +2.1% | 1,737 | – | 9,683 | 1,232 |
| South Africans | 9,529 | 10,627 | −10.3% | 446 | 1,100 | 4,947 | 1,195 |
| Australians | 9,339 | 9,425 | −0.9% | 860 | 725 | 12,319 | 1,221 |
| New Zealanders | 2,603 | 2,700 | −3.6% | 272 | 280 | 4,370 | 411 |
Source: Eurostat, First permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resfirst), data updated on 22 October 2026, downloaded on 28 October 2026 (definitions). First residence permits, persons. Re-use: Eurostat copyright notice (free re-use with acknowledgement, CC BY 4.0).
Source: IRCC, Canada – Permanent Residents by Country of Citizenship (monthly) (CSV, updated on 21 October 2026, data to August 2026, downloaded on 28 October 2026). IRCC rounds each monthly count to the nearest multiple of 5; yearly figures are our sum of the months. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026). Entry clearance visas granted, by nationality and year of decision. Figures from 2026 are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Source: Department of Social Protection (Ireland), Annual Allocations: PPS Numbers (gov.ie, page updated on 21 October 2026): PPSN registrations by year, month and country and by year and country (CSV, downloaded on 30 October 2026), data to September 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0 (data.gov.ie).
b = in 2025 Eurostat marks a break in the time series for a country that issued at least 10% of these permits: Indians (Portugal); Brazilians (Portugal); Pakistanis (Portugal). Part of the change from 2024 may come from that.
Nationalities
Ireland: PPS numbers by nationality, month by month
Ireland's Department of Social Protection publishes every month how many PPS numbers it allocated to each nationality (data to September 2026, page updated on 21 October 2026). These are the most recent official monthly figures by nationality, but PPS numbers allocated are not the same as people who moved to Ireland.
How to read these figures
- EU and EFTA (Eurostat): residence permits valid for at least 3 months issued to non-EU citizens for the first time. They are not a count of moves or of residents, and they leave out people who also hold an EU passport.
- Canada (IRCC): new permanent residents by citizenship. Many already lived in Canada on a temporary permit; temporary workers and students are not counted.
- United Kingdom (Home Office): work, study and family visas granted to people applying from outside the UK, including dependants. Visitors are not counted.
- Ireland (Department of Social Protection): PPS numbers allocated by nationality, by month from 2023 and by year from 2001. A PPS number gives access to public services; people living abroad can also get one, so it is not a count of moves.
- Updates: Eurostat publishes each year once, in the autumn of the year after, and revises past years when countries correct their data. IRCC updates its file every month and the Home Office every quarter.
- We show a nationality and country page when there were at least 500 permits, new permanent residents or visas in 2025.
Official sources
- Eurostat, First permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship (migr_resfirst) – data updated on 22 October 2026, downloaded from the Eurostat API on 28 October 2026; definitions and metadata; free re-use with acknowledgement.
- IRCC, Permanent Residents – Monthly IRCC Updates – CSV updated on 21 October 2026, data to August 2026. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
- Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 – published 27 August 2026, next update 26 November 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Department of Social Protection, Annual Allocations: PPS Numbers – page updated on 21 October 2026, data to September 2026; licence CC BY 4.0 (data.gov.ie).
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