Malta issued the highest number of first-time residence permits per 1,000 residents in the EU last year, figures issued by Eurostat show.

Compared with the population of each member state, the highest rates of first resident permits issued in 2014 were recorded in Malta (9,895 permits or 23.2 first residence permits issued per thousand population), Cyprus (16.2), Sweden (11.1),
Poland (9.4) and the United Kingdom (8.8).

In 2014, 2.3 million first residence permits were issued in the European Union to non-EU citizens. Almost a third (29.5%) of first residence permits were issued in the EU for family reasons, a quarter each for employment (24.8%) and other reasons (25.0%) and a fifth (20.7%) for education. 

The surge in residence permits in Malta has been the source of political controversy and a number of officials at Identity Malta are under investigation. Auditor Joe Sammut was arraigned last month and accused of setting up bogus companies to facilitate the granting of residence permits.  

See full Eurostat statement and tables on pdf below.