Croatia and Romania accounted for the most significant increase when it comes to the number of work permits granted to foreigners from outside the European Union countries in 2022 compared to 2013, according to a survey provided by Monitor Social.

The same reveals that these two countries are becoming popular destinations for international workers, Schengen.News reports.

Monitor Social reveals that Croatia issued more than 53,400 work permits in 2022,  compared to just 599 issued in 2013 followed by Romania with 32,000 work permits issued in 2022, compared to 1,542 granted in 2013.

The statistics from 2022 show that, compared to 2013 statistics, Croatia experienced an increase of more than 80 times in the number of work permits issued, followed by Romania, which registered an increase of over 20 times compared to 2013 statistics.

At a European Union level, in 2022, 1,246,000 work permits were granted, almost three times more than the figures registered in 2013.

In countries like Germany, Sweden and Spain the rate of work permits increased less, below the European average, with the most significant increase registered in Eastern European countries, including Romania.

In 2022, Romania granted more than 31,000 first work permits for non-EU citizens.

The majority of them were granted to nationals of the following countries:

• Nepal (over 6,700)
• Sri Lanka (5,100)
• Bangladesh (2,600)

The first work permits do not translate into the number of foreign citizens working in Romania. European statistics only record the first work permit granted to a non-EU citizen, who has the possibility to subsequently extend his employment contract without being registered again on this list.

Romania Has Among Lowest Non-EU Population

Non-EU residents in Romania account for less than 0.6 per cent of the country’s population. The percentage of foreigners in other EU countries is higher. In Poland, Lithuania and Croatia it surpasses 2 per cent of the total population.

In addition, in other European Union countries, it is even higher, including Germany, Spain and Italy,

The figures from Monitor Social show that while Romania’s number of work permits issued for a period of ten years marked a notable increase it has one of the lowest non-EU populations of all EU countries.

Romania’s Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity said that the current labour market situation in this country is determined by the external migration of Romanian citizens eligible to work, correlated with the natural decrease of the population, the influx of young people on the labour market being lower than the retirements of older workers.

Also relevant is the decrease in the activity rate of certain segments of the labour force, such as that of young people, aged between 16 and 29, who are neither in the labour field, nor in the education or training system professional.

At present, Romania’s quota established by the Government is 100,000 new workers.