Malta issued by far the highest number of residence permits to non-EU citizens per capita in 2019, with 42 permits issued per 1,000 people, a new survey by Eurostat has found.

The number of permits issued by Malta compared to the population represented the highest jump among member states.

Cyprus had the second highest number at 26 permits per 1,000 people and Poland with 19.

The EU average was only seven permits per 1,000 people, while Romania issued the lowest number at just one.

In 2019, Malta issued 21,165 first-residence permits to non-EU citizens.

The EU average was only seven permits per 1,000 people

The highest percentage of these went to Indian citizens, who made up 14% of the figure, followed by residents of Serbia at 8.7%, the Philippines at 8.4%, Nepal at 7% and China, including Hong Kong, at 5.8%.

One-third of residence permits across the EU were issued to people from Ukraine, to whom 757,000 permits were issued; Morocco, accounting for 133,000 permits, of which 47% were issued in Spain; and India with 131,000 permits, 19% of which were issued from Germany.

Employment was the top reason people were applying for citizenship in the EU, followed by family and education.

A total of 41% of permits issued in the EU were employment-based, while family made up 27%, education 14% and international protection some 18%.