Belarusians rank second in EU residence permits in 2023
European Union, sample photo
Belarusians in 2023 became the second largest group of foreigners who received residence permits in the EU countries.
According to Eurostat, 281,279 Belarusians received primary residence permits in the EU in 2023. Only the citizens of Ukraine - 307,313 - received more residence permits.
By the way, Ukrainians have held the first place in this indicator since 2013. However, the number of residence permits issued to Ukrainian citizens has recently begun to decline: in 2018 they were issued 634 thousand, while in 2023 - 307 thousand.
And the number of Belarusian applications has increased significantly. In 2013, Belarusians received 75,714 residence permits in the EU countries and ranked fourth. In 2018, our compatriots were not even in the top ten by the number of residence permits issued. And in 2023 they took the second place. At the same time, the number of residence permits issued to Belarusians increased by 3.7 times compared to 2013.
As of January 1, 2024, the total population of Belarus amounted to 9,155,978 people. As calculated by Radio Liberty, 3% of this number received a residence permit in the EU countries last year. For comparison, only about 1% of Ukrainians received residence permits in the EU in 2023.
