EU Issues 12.8M Residence Permits; Golden Visas Still Draw Investors In Portugal, Greece, Hungary

A November 2025 Immigrant Invest report, drawing on Eurostat and EU member-state sources (mostly through 2023), finds 12,787,027 people hold EU resident status. Spain leads permit issuance (>3M), with Germany, France, and Italy each topping 2M. Work, study, and family reunification dominate permit reasons, while investment-based Golden Visa routes remain popular in Portugal, Greece, and Hungary (thresholds around €250,000). Top nationalities for overall permits include Ukraine, Belarus, India, Morocco, and Syria; Golden Visa recipients frequently come from China, Russia, the U.S., and Türkiye.