Italy issues record number of new residence permits in 2025

Italy issued 426,956 new residence permits to non-EU citizens in 2025, marking a 47.2% increase from 2024. This represents the highest volume of new permits recorded in the last fifteen years, surpassed only by the 2022 peak driven by Ukrainian refugees.

The growth was primarily driven by permits for study, which rose by 76%, and family reunification, which increased by 61.2%. The surge in family-related permits may be attributed to an anticipated rush of applications before stricter requirements were implemented. Work-related permits also saw a significant rise of 45.9%, though the total remains below the annual quotas set by authorities.

Moroccan nationals led the new permit recipients with 44,549 documents, a 72.8% year-on-year increase, followed by citizens from Bangladesh and Egypt. While overall residency permits rose, asylum applications decreased by 15.1% compared to the previous year. As of December 31, 2025, there were over 4 million non-EU citizens holding regular residence permits in Italy.