Eurostat recorded 876,625 valid European Union residence permits held by Russian citizens at the end of 2025, a total near its previously published 2024 figure but still above its prewar level.
The 2025 total was 1,012 higher than the 875,613 shown in Eurostat’s 2024 edition. That difference compares two published releases: Eurostat revises permit data as countries update their records, so it should not be treated as a definitive measure of growth during 2025.
Germany accounted for about 218,000 of the permits held by Russian citizens at year-end, the largest national total. Spain followed with 117,000 and Estonia with 78,000. Eurostat rounded those country figures.
Family-related reasons were the largest category in Eurostat’s breakdown, accounting for 37.2% of the valid permits held by Russian citizens. The category identifies the basis for permission to stay; it does not establish why a person left Russia or whether the move was connected to the war in Ukraine.
Eurostat’s figures count permits valid on Dec. 31, including renewals. A residence permit authorizes a non-EU citizen to stay for at least three months. The year-end count therefore does not show how many Russians arrived in the EU during 2025 or when existing permit holders first moved.
Across all non-EU citizens, 27.8 million residence permits were valid in the bloc at the end of 2025. The figures come from national administrative records, and Eurostat cautions that differences in countries’ methods limit direct comparisons between them.
Eurostat plans to update its article on the stock of residence permits in September 2027.
