In 2023, about 89,000 skilled workers from abroad were issued an EU Blue Card – a residence and work permit that is issued to non-EU nationals with qualifications.
According to a press release issued by Eurostat, the EU Office for Statistics, Germany has issued about 78 per cent of all blue cards, accounting for a total of 69,000 cards granted, Schengen.News reports.
After Germany, Poland issued the largest number of EU Blue Cards – about 7,000 or eight per cent of the total, followed by France, which granted four per cent of the total cards or a total of 4,000.
India Was the Country of Origin for Most Blue Card Beneficiaries in 2023
As the data show, India was granted about 24 per cent of all EU Blue Cards issued for the year, accounting for 21,000 beneficiaries. Russians are second with 9,000 cards issued (11 per cent), while Turks and Belarus follow as third and fourth with 6,000 and 5,000 cards granted respectively.
Indians also led the list of countries of origin for beneficiaries of intra-corporate transferee permits in 2023, with 36 per cent of 3,900 of these permits being granted to nationals from India.
China and South Korea are the second and third countries of origin for beneficiaries of these permits, obtaining 1,600 or 14 per cent of the total and 1,300 or 12 per cent of all permits for intra-corporate transferee, respectively.
As for EU countries that issue these permits, the Netherlands stood out, granting 25 per cent of the total, or 2,700. Germany and Hungary follow, with 1,900 or 18 per cent of the total. France and Spain granted 1,500 and 1,100 of these permits, respectively.
EU Issued 451,000 Authorisations for Students & Researchers
In 2023, the EU countries granted 451,000 authorisations for students and researchers who wanted to move to the zone for academic purposes.
Germany was the number one country to issue the most authorisations – a total of 144,00 or 32 per cent of the total, followed by France (117,000 or 26 per cent) and Spain (55,000 or 12 per cent).
Indians, once again, were the top beneficiaries of these authorisations for research or study, representing 11 per cent of all authorisations or 50,000. Chinese, Moroccans and Americans followed, with 47,000, 22,000 and 21,000 authorisations, respectively.