Moroccans top non-EU residents receiving Italian residence permits in 2025

Moroccans topped the list of non-European Union nationals receiving residence permits in Italy in 2025, with more than 44,000 permits issued, an annual increase of over 72%, according to new data from Italy’s National Institute of Statistics (Istat).

Bangladeshi nationals ranked second, with around 39,000 permits, followed by Egyptians, who received more than 32,000, the data showed.

Moroccans also ranked second among foreign nationals granted Italian citizenship last year, with more than 23,000 acquiring citizenship, up 13.1% from the previous year. Albanians topped the list, with more than 25,000 people naturalized, an increase of approximately 14.4%.

As of December 2025, around 2.247 million people living in Italy had acquired Italian citizenship, including more than 1.932 million who were originally nationals of countries outside the EU, according to Istat.

Italy issued more than 426,000 residence permits to foreign nationals in 2025, an annual increase of nearly 47%. The figure was the highest in 15 years, apart from the peak recorded in 2022, which was largely driven by the arrival of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the number of asylum applications in Italy fell to 128,665, down from more than 151,000 the previous year, a decline of approximately 15.1%. More than 4 million non-EU nationals held valid residence permits in the country.

Work-related residence permits also recorded substantial growth, rising by nearly 45% and approaching the number issued for family reunification.

Moroccans were the largest group benefiting from family reunification permits, with more than 23,000 issued, followed by Albanians, Egyptians, Pakistanis and Indians. Women accounted for more than half of beneficiaries across these communities.

Italy’s Lombardy region issued nearly 18% of new work permits, followed by Veneto, Campania and Emilia-Romagna. Permits for family reunification through marriage also increased, rising by 7.5%.