Moroccans maintain their position as the first community with the most residence permits issued by France.
According to recent data from the French Interior Ministry, about 36,845 Moroccans received their first residence permits from France in 2023.
Algerian citizens meanwhile positioned themselves as the second community with 32,003 permits, followed by Tunisians, Chinese citizens, as well as people from the US and Cote d’Ivoire.
In 2024, Moroccans remained the first community to receive French residence permits. More than 37,000 Moroccans received the document last year, indicating a 0.4% increase.
Algerians also came in second position last year, and they were followed by Tunisians, Chinese, and US citizens.
“The three Maghreb countries are characterized by a significant share of residence permits granted for family reasons, and for Morocco and Tunisia, there is also a high share for economic titles,” the ministry’s data detailed.
Economic and family reasons for which the permits were granted account for 43.4% of first issuance, it said.
The number of first residence permits and renewals issued respectively increased by 1.8% and 2.4% last year compared to 2023, the ministry noted.
“The rise in first-time issuances is primarily driven by an increase in humanitarian reasons; for renewals, it is driven by economic titles and student titles,” the ministry said.
The foreign population legally living in France increased by 3.9% as of December last year, compared to the previous year.
Recent data shows the number of Moroccans who now hold valid residence permits in France is estimated at 603,482. This marks an increase of 2.7% compared to 2023.
The numbers show an upward trend in the number of Moroccans receiving residence permits in France despite challenges reported by Moroccan visa applicants and residents.
In May last year, the website Schengen Visa Info said its data had Moroccans as the top source country for French visa applications.
The website detailed that Morocco was France’s number one source of visa applications in 2023, with 310,057 applications filed.
Diplomatic relations between Paris and Rabat have considerably improved over the past year. Yet many Moroccans have in recent weeks continued to voice their anger over what they perceive as the unjustified rejection of their French visa applications.
