In 2022, France issued more than 320,000 first residence permits, a historic record and an increase of more than 17% compared to 2021. The figures, published Thursday, January 26, by the Interior Ministry, show that immigration is rising. "We are resuming a long-term trend. The effects of the pandemic, which marked the migration flows in 2020 and 2021, are partially erased," the Interior Ministry said at a press conference. For comparison, 193,000 first permits were issued in 2012 and 172,000 in 2007. In total, 3.8 million foreigners now hold a residence permit in France. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are the main countries of origin.
"This does not make France the world's champion of immigration, neither in absolute nor in relative terms," said Jean-Christophe Dumont, an expert on international migration at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). By way of comparison, according to the OECD, Germany issued nearly 540,000 first residence permits in 2021 for a population of 83 million and Canada more than 400,000 first residence permits for 40 million inhabitants.
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