According to recent data from Eurostat, Cyprus issued a total of 16,910 "pink slips" in 2020. The leaders among the recipients were Indians, Russians and Nepalese.
Indian citizens received 3,041 residence permits, Russians - 2,303, Nepalese citizens - 2,029. The top five also included citizens of Syria and the Philippines. They got 1,560 and 1,321 residence permits.
It is noteworthy that in total, citizens of these five countries accounted for the largest percentage of the total number of residence permits issued - 61%. In other words, they were issued 10,254 residence permits out of 16,910.
Among other countries whose citizens were issued a Cyprus residence permit in 2020 were: Sri Lanka (1,149), Egypt (856), Ukraine (614), Vietnam (555), Bangladesh (487), Israel (364), Pakistan (303), Lebanon (241), USA (186), Nigeria (168), Moldova (155), China, including Hong Kong (128), Belarus (126), Iran (126), Georgia (102) and Palestine (98).
In total, 2.2 million citizens of third countries received their first temporary residence permit in the European Union in 2020.
Poland became the leader in the number of pink slips issued (598 thousand, or 26%). It is followed by Germany (313 thousand, 14%) and Spain (312 thousand, 14%).
Ukrainian citizens received the largest number of permits in the EU - 601,200. At the same time, 81% of these permits (488,900) were granted by Poland. In second place were Moroccans (123,400, 56% of which were provided by Spain), in third place – Indians (79,270, 14% of which were issued to them in Germany).
The reasons for issuing a residence permit vary depending on the nationality. Ukrainian citizens received a residence permit mainly for employment reasons (65% of all permits), Chinese citizens - for education (67%), and Moroccan citizens - for family reasons (61%). "Other reasons", which means refugee status and receiving humanitarian protection, prevailed among citizens of Belarus (74%) and Syria (68%).