Immigrants: record number of residence permits – up 47 per cent in 2025, the highest figure in the last 15 years

In 2025, 426,956 new residence permits were issued in Italia, representing a 47.2 per cent increase compared with 2024, when the figure stood at 290,119. According to Istat, this is a record: it is the highest total recorded in the last fifteen years, second only to the peak in 2022, due in part to the massive influx of refugees fleeing Ukraine. The increase is more pronounced for women than for men (+56.5 per cent and +41.6 per cent respectively). Overall, the growth is particularly marked for family permits (+61.2 per cent) and study permits (+76.0 per cent), whilst work permits rose by 45.9 per cent. Compared with last year, however, asylum applications have fallen by 15 per cent.

Family permits are the main reason for the issuance of permits in 2025, reaching a record total of 168,733, followed by asylum and protection permits (135,831).

The number of work permits has also risen significantly, reaching just under 59,000, though this is still well below the target of 165,000 permits planned for the year. The rise in work permits – which account for 13.8 per cent of all residence permits issued during the year – was more pronounced among men (+48.9 per cent) than among women (+32.2 per cent), a trend that exacerbates the already marked male predominance for this type of permit. Those entering the country for work are mainly nationals of India (13,783), Morocco (10,575), Tunisia (5,612), Egypt (5,140) and Bangladesh (3,928).

Although to a lesser extent, the number of asylum grants and other forms of protection also increased (+30.5 per cent).

In the ranking of countries of origin for those who received the first permits, Morocco takes first place, with 44,549 permits issued, representing an increase of 72.8 per cent. This is followed by Bangladesh (+41.9 per cent and 39,807 new permits) and Egypt (+59.4 per cent and 32,235 new permits).