In a study of its 38 members, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recorded 6.1 million new permanent immigrants in 2025, compared to 6.2 million the previous year.
Legal humanitarian migration dropped "sharply" by 26 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, the OECD's International Migration Outlook 2026 report found. Labour migration increased by 13 percent.
While 2025 marked an overall decline in migration, the number of permanant immigrants settling for the long term was up 12 percent compared with 2019.
"What's new is that these figures hide very different trends depending on the region and country," said Jean-Christophe Dumont, head of the OECD's international migration division and editor of the report.
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Sharp regional trends
Portugal, Spain and Italy, which have all looked to labour migration to offset a decline in their populations, recorded a notable spike in permanent migrants in 2025.
Portugal saw a 139-percent increase to 313,600 individuals, resulting from approvals of a backlog of pending residency permits.
Spain saw a 25-percent increase to 460,500 people, notaby after having broadened its residency policies.
Italy saw a 45-percent increase to 248,800 people, largely attributed to a flux of family and labour migration.
Other countries, however, saw significant declines in permanent migrants.
The United States saw a 14-percent drop, although it still leads OECD countries recording more than 1.2 million permanent migrants in 2025.
Canada saw a 19-percent decrease to 393,800 people, and the United Kingdom a 32 percent decline to 295,800 people.
Dumont linked the drop in Canada to “drastic” policies to limit both permanent and temporary immigration amid a housing crisis.
The drop in the UK was linked to post-Brexit changes to its immigration system aimed at cutting the number of arrivals.
He said that without Portugal, Italy, and Spain, OECD-wide immigration would have fallen 8.2 percent, and European OECD immigration would have fallen 7.9 percent.
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The situation in France
The OECD said France received 334,000 new long-term or permanent immigrants in 2025 – an 8.9 percent increase from 2024.
The figure comprises 21 percent immigrants benefitting from free mobility, 16 percent labour migrants, 32 percent family members (including accompanying family) and 22 percent humanitarian migrants.
About 109,000 permits were issued for tertiary-level international students, the OECD said, and 35,000 temporary or seasonal work permits (excluding intra-EU migration).
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia – countries formerly under French rule – were the top three nationalities of newcomers in 2024.
Asylum applications fell 10 percent in 2025, with the largest groups coming from Ukraine, DRC and Afghanistan.
Mixed picture for migration in France as permits rise and enforcement steps up
(with newswires)
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