Malta issued significantly more new residence permits per capita than any other EU country in 2023, according to Eurostat data analysed by Times of Malta.

The country approved nearly 42,000 first residence permits, a high figure given its small population.

While Germany issued over 586,000 permits, Malta stands out in the EU for its rate of permits issued per 100,000 people, which exceeded 7,400.

This figure was double that of Cyprus, the second-highest at just over 3,700, and more than 11 times the rate of Italy, which issued 660 permits per 100,000 people.

Employment was the primary reason for Malta’s high number of residence permits, accounting for two-thirds (almost 28,000) of the total.

This trend mirrors the broader EU pattern, where employment accounted for 33.8% of the 1.3 million first residence permits issued across the bloc.

Education was the second most common reason for permits in Malta, with almost 7,300 issued, followed by family-related reasons, accounting for about 3,200.

Across the EU, over 3.7 million first residence permits were issued to non-EU citizens in 2023, marking a 4.6% increase from the previous year and the highest recorded figure to date.

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