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Visa Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 March 2025

Tuesday, 25 March 2025

Questions (549)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

549. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that received a holiday visa, a working visa or a student visa or any other visa for each of the past ten years; and the breakdown of the top 15 countries in each cohort. [13512/25]

View answer

Written answers

I can advise the Deputy that any visa required national that wishes to enter the State, and remain, for up to 90 days must have a Type C Short Stay Visa. A visa required national that wishes to reside in the State for longer than 90 days must have a Type D Long Stay Visa. My Department publishes information online regarding the number visa applications received, visa decisions issued and the nationality of visa applicants, from 2017 to 2024. This information is here: data.gov.ie/organization/department-of-justice

The central concern in deciding on visa applications, as with all visa services worldwide, is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country's vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time facilitating travel for those who meet the criteria.The visa system provides various legal pathways to facilitate travel to Ireland, the processing time depends on the type of visa sought and may vary due to several factors, such as the number of applications on hand, individual circumstances, and the complexity of applications.

The number of Tourism and Visit Family/Friend applications received from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 592,742.

The number of Tourism and Visit Family/Friend applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 485,278.

The table below shows the top 15 countries for Tourism and Visit Family/Friend applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024.

No

Nationalities

Total No. of Applications approved at first instance

1

India

130863

2

People's Republic of China

63782

3

Russian Federation

44388

4

Nigeria

22239

5

Philippines

20241

6

Turkiye

17343

7

Saudi Arabia

16123

8

Pakistan

15084

9

Indonesia

13287

10

Ukraine

9764

11

Kuwait

8553

12

Thailand

7809

13

Colombia

6953

14

Egypt

5825

15

Serbia

5026

* Figures are correct at time of issue however all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.** An application refused at 1st instance may have subsequently been granted at appeal. These applications are not included.

*** An application approved in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.

The number of Employment applications received from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 91,548. The number of Employment applications approved at first instance from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 84,486.

The table below shows the top 15 countries for Employment applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024.

No

Nationalities

Total No. of Applications approved at first instance

1

India

41119

2

Philippines

11117

3

Pakistan

4896

4

People's Republic of China

4478

5

Zimbabwe

2063

6

Russian Federation

1904

7

Turkiye

1832

8

Egypt

1581

9

Sudan

1545

10

Nigeria

1502

11

Ukraine

1322

12

Sri Lanka

1158

13

Thailand

960

14

Ghana

705

15

Viet Nam

572

* Figures are correct at time of issue however all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.** An application refused at 1st instance may have subsequently been granted at appeal. These applications are not included.

*** An application approved in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.

The number of Study applications received from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 190,075.

The number of Study applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 147,281.

The table below shows the top 15 countries for Study applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024.

No

Nationalities

Total No. of Applications approved at first instance

1

India

46655

2

People's Republic of China

26018

3

Russian Federation

18936

4

Turkiye

12123

5

Saudi Arabia

8639

6

Mongolia

4490

7

Nigeria

4284

8

Kuwait

3459

9

Pakistan

3073

10

Oman

1857

11

Viet Nam

1479

12

Ukraine

1096

13

Colombia

1002

14

United Arab Emirates

866

15

Kenya

823

* Figures are correct at time of issue however all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.** An application refused at 1st instance may have subsequently been granted at appeal. These applications are not included.

*** An application approved in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.

The number of Other applications (these include such applications as Business Visas, Conference Visas, Medical Visas etc.) received from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 488,891.

The number of Other applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024 is 415,659. The table below shows the top 15 countries for Other applications approved, at first instance, from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2024.

No

Nationalities

Total No. of Applicants

1

India

124786

2

People's Republic of China

51756

3

Russian Federation

32752

4

Turkiye

20618

5

Pakistan

15794

6

Philippines

11529

7

Nigeria

11241

8

Egypt

10538

9

Ukraine

10092

10

Saudi Arabia

6771

11

Serbia

6590

12

Belarus

5685

13

Zimbabwe

4335

14

Colombia

4104

15

Thailand

4017

* Figures are correct at time of issue however all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.** An application refused at 1st instance may have subsequently been granted at appeal. These applications are not included.

*** An application approved in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.

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