Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
425. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that applied for asylum in each of the past ten years who gained entry to the country by way of a holiday visa, a working visa or a student visa or any other visa. [22463/24]
View answer426. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that applied for 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. [22464/24]
View answer427. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the method her Department uses to confirm that a person visiting Ireland on a holiday visa, a working visa or a student visa or any other visa has left the country. [22465/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 425 to 427, inclusive, together.
I can advise the Deputy that Ireland supports the entry of migrants through legal pathways, to facilitate legal migration into the State. These include arrangements for various categories of persons, including; workers and international students.
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. Details of these legal pathways and the application process for visa required nationals can be found on the Immigration Service website at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/
I can inform the Deputy that there are no routine exit checks on each individual leaving the State to verify if a every person has left following the expiry of their immigration permission. To introduce exit checks would require the introduction of border controls on the Island of Ireland.
All non-EEA nationals are expected to leave Ireland upon the expiry of their immigration permission. If a person wishes to remain in the State they must seek a change or extension of their immigration permission, from my Department. If an application to change or extend a permission is refused, the person can be required to submit documentary evidence that they have left the State. Failure to do so, may result in the issuing of a Deportation Order.
A deportation order is a legal order to leave the State. Any person who has been ordered to leave the State and fails to do so is committing a criminal offence, and can be arrested without warrant if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána. Such an order remains on the person’s record permanently – it means they cannot enter Ireland again in future, and it will likely also have an impact on their ability to travel to the UK and the EU. The GNIB carries out inquiries to confirm that people have removed themselves from the State, and works closely with my Department to enforce deportations where this is not the case.
The table below details the number of employment visa applications received from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2024 together with the top 15 nationalities. It should be noted that these figures are applications only and not every application is successful.
|
Nationality |
Employment |
Percent |
|
India |
39609 |
48.6% |
|
Philippines |
9746 |
11.9% |
|
Pakistan |
5104 |
6.3% |
|
People's Republic of China |
4408 |
5.4% |
|
Russian Federation |
1880 |
2.3% |
|
Zimbabwe |
1800 |
2.2% |
|
Turkiye |
1756 |
2.2% |
|
Nigeria |
1614 |
2% |
|
Egypt |
1585 |
1.9% |
|
Sudan |
1470 |
1.8% |
|
Ukraine |
1350 |
1.7% |
|
Sri Lanka |
1050 |
1.3% |
|
Thailand |
908 |
1.1% |
|
Viet Nam |
906 |
1.1% |
|
Ghana |
777 |
1% |
|
Other |
7599 |
9.3% |
|
Total |
81,562 |
100% |
The table below details the number of study visa applications received from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2024, together with the top 15 nationalities. It should be noted that these figures are applications only and not every application is successful.
|
Nationality |
Study |
Percent |
|
India |
44686 |
27.6% |
|
People's Republic of China |
24344 |
15% |
|
Russian Federation |
19362 |
12% |
|
Turkiye |
17431 |
10.8% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
8606 |
5.3% |
|
Nigeria |
6872 |
4.2% |
|
Pakistan |
6591 |
4.1% |
|
Mongolia |
4872 |
3% |
|
Kuwait |
3380 |
2.1% |
|
Oman |
1855 |
1.1% |
|
Viet Nam |
1837 |
1.1% |
|
Colombia |
1597 |
1% |
|
Ukraine |
1311 |
0.8% |
|
Nepal |
1081 |
0.7% |
|
Morocco |
1026 |
0.6% |
|
Other |
17116 |
10.6% |
|
Total |
161967 |
100% |
The table below details the number of visit visa applications received from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2024, together with the top 15 nationalities. It should be noted that these figures are applications only as not every application is successful.
|
Nationality |
Visit |
Percent |
|
India |
122303 |
23.2% |
|
People's Republic of China |
63475 |
12% |
|
Russian Federation |
45727 |
8.7% |
|
Nigeria |
37232 |
7% |
|
Pakistan |
26344 |
5% |
|
Philippines |
23004 |
4.4% |
|
Turkiye |
17953 |
3.4% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
15821 |
3% |
|
Indonesia |
13418 |
2.5% |
|
Ukraine |
12075 |
2.3% |
|
Kuwait |
8670 |
1.6% |
|
Thailand |
8062 |
1.5% |
|
Sudan |
7648 |
1.4% |
|
Egypt |
6698 |
1.3% |
|
Colombia |
6607 |
1.3% |
|
Other |
113113 |
21.4% |
|
Total |
528,150 |
100% |
The table below details the number of other visa applications received from 1 January 2014 to 30 April 2024, together with the top 15 nationalities. It should be noted that these figures are applications only and not every application is successful.
|
Nationality |
Other * |
Percent |
|
India |
120726 |
26.9% |
|
People's Republic of China |
49111 |
10.9% |
|
Russian Federation |
33001 |
7.3% |
|
Pakistan |
27983 |
6.2% |
|
Turkiye |
20713 |
4.6% |
|
Nigeria |
19159 |
4.3% |
|
Philippines |
12554 |
2.8% |
|
Ukraine |
11012 |
2.4% |
|
Egypt |
10940 |
2.4% |
|
Afghanistan |
7810 |
1.7% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
6707 |
1.5% |
|
Serbia |
6523 |
1.5% |
|
Belarus |
5693 |
1.3% |
|
Zimbabwe |
4738 |
1.1% |
|
Bangladesh |
4638 |
1% |
|
Other |
108317 |
24.1% |
|
Total |
449,625 |
100% |
* The other category includes such visa types as join family (Irish national sponsor), join family (non-EEA sponsor), business, conference etc.
Data on the number of persons that applied for asylum in each of the past ten years who gained entry to the country by way of a holiday visa, a working visa or a student visa or any other visa is not available at this time. While this information is recorded as part of an application for protection, statistics in relation to the number of people that previously were granted a visa are not readily available.
