American citizens received 80,424 first EU residence permits in 2024, up 1.9% from 78,911 in 2023 and the highest annual total in Eurostat's series going back to 2013. The increase came as overall EU permit issuance declined, making Americans one of the few nationality groups to record year-over-year growth.
Sweden enacted legislation on June 15, 2026 authorizing the Swedish Migration Agency to revoke residence permits for non-criminal conduct, including permits already granted. The first measure of its kind since 2005, the law takes effect July 13 and applies to all non-EU migrants, including Americans, on equal terms.
Americans moving to Brazil now sit among the country’s largest foreign residence cohorts, a slow climb back from the pandemic floor that the permit data only partly explains.
The Dominican Republic issued 2,491 residence permits to Americans in 2025, with temporary residence accounting for 64% of the total at 1,591 permits. Every other category trailed by a significant margin.
Turkey's address-based population register counts 9,621 U.S. citizens as registered residents and 30,100 U.S.-born residents, a gap that reflects decades of naturalization and dual nationality among Americans who have put down roots in the country.
Spain issued 15,638 first residence permits to Americans in 2024, more than double the 7,383 issued in 2015 and the largest American pipeline in Europe after France. The resident stock stands at 57,379 U.S. citizens with valid permits, alongside 76,180 U.S.-born residents, a gap reflecting decades of dual nationality. Settlement concentrates in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
Portugal issued 4,345 first residence permits to Americans in 2024, up from 550 in 2015, an eightfold increase over nine years with a five-year compound annual growth rate of roughly 31%. The stock figure tracks the same trajectory: 12,443 U.S. citizens held valid Portuguese permits at end of 2024, compared to 2,503 in 2016.
American residence permit activity in Mexico concentrated in three states in 2024, with Mexico City, Jalisco, and Baja California Sur accounting for 40% of national permits issued from January through October, per Instituto Nacional de Migración data. The top six entities together carried 63% of 23,502 recorded events, a distribution that tracks the established American settlement corridors.
France issued 13,122 first residence permits to U.S. citizens in 2024, with 7,182 classified under education, representing 54.7% of the American first-permit mix and up from 38.3% in 2015. The shift has reoriented France from a broad lifestyle and work destination into one where universities and academic programs are the dominant entry point for arriving Americans.
Fresh Eurostat figures show where Americans, Brits, Indians and other non‑EU nationals are securing first residence permits – and how Spain, Germany and the Netherlands have become the main gateways to Europe. Europe’s 3.57 million new residents In 2024, European countries issued about 3.57 million first residence permits to non‑EU citizens, covering moves for work, […]
