Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2026
220. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 224 of 11 February 2026, to include all visa application figures that have been granted for the past ten years including applications that were subsequently granted at appeal, business visas, conference visas, medical visas, and any other visa category that have been issued. [13023/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that my Department currently operates seven overseas Visa Offices in addition to the Visa Office in Dublin. These are located in Abuja, Beijing, London, Moscow, Ankara, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. In addition, staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade process certain visa applications in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated authority from my Department.
Visa and preclearance applications provide legal avenues for people moving to Ireland for employment, study and family reasons and also to facilitate visitors who wish to travel for business and/or tourism. It is important to recall these applications are screening processes, designed to establish that the person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. Verifying an application is an important part of our immigration system.
Any visa required national who wishes to enter the State and remain for up to 90 days must have a Type C short-stay visa, wile those intending to reside for longer than 90 days must have a Type D long-stay visa.
In 2025, approximately 206,000 visa applications, of all types, were received by the Visa Division of my Department. This reflects an increase of 2% compared to 2024, with over 3,900 additional applications received. This follows a 21% increase in applications in 2024 compared to 2023. My officials are working to meet the increased level of demand, and over 8,700 additional visa decisions have issued in 2025, compared to 2024.
I can advise the Deputy that table 1 below details the number of visas granted at first instance and at appeal for the various visa categories. Please note that it is the policy of my Department not to release numbers where there are less than 5, as there is a possibility that a person may be identifiable by releasing such information.
Table 1. Visas granted at first instance and at appeal by category from 2016 to 2025.
|
Category / Reason for Travel |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Business |
17,333 |
17,858 |
19,041 |
21,518 |
3,895 |
1,158 |
8,315 |
12,639 |
15,733 |
15,816 |
|
Conference/Event |
9,498 |
9,705 |
12,186 |
10,617 |
1,300 |
257 |
5,589 |
7,953 |
8,991 |
8,459 |
|
Employment |
4,089 |
4,466 |
4,591 |
6,998 |
5,068 |
6,870 |
16,432 |
15,496 |
12,446 |
11,470 |
|
Employment/Scientific Researcher |
276 |
290 |
357 |
382 |
250 |
323 |
435 |
432 |
453 |
208 |
|
EU Treaty Rights |
7 |
11 |
29 |
5 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
|
Exam |
669 |
578 |
526 |
505 |
100 |
58 |
208 |
344 |
360 |
560 |
|
Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (de facto partner) |
54 |
70 |
49 |
43 |
9 |
16 |
24 |
14 |
15 |
24 |
|
Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (other) |
427 |
512 |
556 |
523 |
118 |
180 |
247 |
454 |
589 |
836 |
|
Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (spouse) |
1,055 |
1,135 |
1,092 |
1,116 |
292 |
534 |
763 |
955 |
1,192 |
1,645 |
|
Family Re-unification |
367 |
663 |
429 |
16 |
9 |
< 5 |
37 |
14 |
< 5 |
< 5 |
|
International Protection – Family Reunification |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
136 |
|
Internship |
182 |
185 |
178 |
185 |
30 |
57 |
157 |
133 |
149 |
144 |
|
Join Family (de facto partner CSEP/HA) |
|
|
|
|
5 |
42 |
70 |
79 |
65 |
99 |
|
Join Family (Irish nat.)(de facto partner) |
44 |
43 |
38 |
28 |
12 |
31 |
51 |
18 |
21 |
30 |
|
Join Family (Irish nat.)(other) |
519 |
507 |
432 |
435 |
351 |
519 |
488 |
559 |
619 |
528 |
|
Join Family (Irish nat.)(spouse) |
758 |
825 |
732 |
705 |
514 |
675 |
682 |
708 |
607 |
715 |
|
Join Family (Non-EEA nat.)(de facto partner) |
37 |
29 |
21 |
40 |
28 |
31 |
42 |
26 |
54 |
37 |
|
Join Family (Non-EEA nat.)(other) |
2,257 |
2,513 |
2,554 |
3,288 |
2,963 |
4,669 |
7,355 |
7,425 |
8,547 |
7,046 |
|
Join Family (Non-EEA nat.)(spouse) |
1,994 |
2,419 |
2,459 |
3,504 |
3,069 |
4,639 |
7,560 |
6,790 |
7,843 |
6,802 |
|
Join Family (UK nat.) |
|
|
|
|
|
23 |
68 |
27 |
32 |
54 |
|
Join Ship |
32 |
70 |
104 |
115 |
23 |
76 |
14 |
6 |
5 |
24 |
|
Marriage/Civil Partnership |
46 |
55 |
46 |
40 |
12 |
14 |
66 |
61 |
44 |
63 |
|
Medical Treatment |
19 |
26 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
7 |
16 |
6 |
38 |
92 |
|
Minister of Religion |
146 |
198 |
118 |
81 |
25 |
31 |
116 |
66 |
102 |
90 |
|
Other |
3,325 |
3,470 |
3,240 |
3,326 |
1,082 |
1,225 |
2,323 |
2,950 |
3,306 |
2,489 |
|
Performance/Tournament |
1,735 |
1,491 |
1,489 |
1,688 |
355 |
558 |
808 |
848 |
1,383 |
1,668 |
|
Study |
10,057 |
11,394 |
14,404 |
17,214 |
7,822 |
11,744 |
17,594 |
18,539 |
21,603 |
18,216 |
|
Training |
1,888 |
1,864 |
1,865 |
1,998 |
421 |
69 |
720 |
879 |
885 |
1,039 |
|
Transit |
173 |
159 |
128 |
142 |
26 |
12 |
34 |
59 |
99 |
87 |
|
Visit |
47,314 |
49,638 |
54,268 |
62,550 |
9,823 |
8,691 |
43,197 |
60,648 |
74,670 |
82,641 |
|
Volunteer |
70 |
69 |
57 |
49 |
24 |
20 |
38 |
24 |
16 |
15 |
* Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing. A decision made in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.
* International Protection Family Reunification (IP FRU) category was added at the end of July 2025, so these figures do not represent a full year. Prior to July 2025 IP FRU visas were included in another Join Family category such as Join Family (Non-EEA nat.)(spouse) or Join Family (Non-EEA nat.)(other).
* Join Family (de facto partner CSEP/HA) was a new category introduced to capture the specific cohort and streamline their visa processing
* Join Family (UK nat.) category was covered by EUTR prior to Brexit.
