Non EU immigrants rose by 48 pc last year

Joan Collins THE Balearics close 2005 with 117'605 foreigners having been granted residencias, which was a rise of 27.8 percent on 2004. This was after the incorporation of 25'577 new people into the state system thanks mainly to the amnesty put in place by the central Government, according to figures from the Secretary of State for Immigration and Emigration. Some 46 percent of the total of foreigners are included in the Community Register (54'125 people) who are from countries which form part of the European Union, while 54 percent (63'480) are included in the General Register, reserved for people from third world countries and others known just as immigrants. So the number of immigrants has grown by 48.71 percent (20'794 people) in the Balearics to December 31 2005 in comparison with 2004. The number of foreigners from the EU was 9.7 percent (4'783) in the same period. Of the type of residencia which immigrants to the Balearics have, some 41.91 percent have an initial residencia (26'605 people), 12.78 percent have one which has been renewed for the first time, some 17.97 percent have one renewed for the second time, 25.55 percent have a permanent residencia (16'219 people), and 1.7 percent have some other type of authorisation. As for the continents from which the immigrants come, 44'268 of the 117'605 foreigners are from EU countries, mainly Germany (12'645), the United Kingdom (12'036), Italy (7'114) and France (3'563). Another 6'999 come from other European countries, the majority of them from Bulgaria (2'663) and Rumanian (2'407). The second continent from which most foreigners come is Latin America with 36'668 foreigners. Ecuatorians (11'991), Columbians (7'213), Argentinians (6'646), Uruguayans (2'186), Cubans (1'557) and Bolivians (1'392). The third continent is Africa with 23'492 legal immigrants, mostly from Morroco (17'455), Nigeria (1'656) and Senegal (1'629). And there are 5'136 immigrants from Asia, mainly from China.