Ireland employment permits by nationality

How many Irish employment permits each nationality was issued and refused, from 1 January to 30 September 2026, next to 2025. In total 29,989 permits were issued and 3,348 applications refused (10.0% of decisions). Official figures from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, published 1 October 2026.

India
9,120 issued
769 refused · 7.8% of decisions
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China
1,719 issued
236 refused · 12.1% of decisions
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Nigeria
624 issued
83 refused · 11.7% of decisions
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Türkiye
223 issued
12 refused · 5.1% of decisions
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Pakistan
1,448 issued
155 refused · 9.7% of decisions
Philippines
4,402 issued
470 refused · 9.6% of decisions

Every nationality

127 nationalities · sorted by permits issued in 2026
# Nationality Issued 2026* Refused 2026* Refused share Issued 2025Refused 2025
1 India 9,120 769 7.8% 9,947 807
2 Philippines 4,402 470 9.6% 3,398 335
3 Brazil 3,611 603 14.3% 3,381 522
4 China 1,719 236 12.1% 1,922 215
5 Pakistan 1,448 155 9.7% 1,453 186
6 South Africa 1,117 156 12.3% 1,240 209
7 United States of America 927 38 3.9% 1,039 80
8 Zimbabwe 917 143 13.5% 831 138
9 Sri Lanka 704 63 8.2% 631 68
10 Nigeria 624 83 11.7% 726 156
11 Nepal 426 72 14.5% 425 58
12 Malaysia 410 25 5.7% 503 45
13 Mexico 391 48 10.9% 392 61
14 Bangladesh 227 45 16.5% 203 37
15 Türkiye 223 12 5.1% 332 21
16 Kenya 195 31 13.7% 172 21
17 Egypt 194 10 4.9% 206 20
18 Chile 181 30 14.2% 185 36
19 Canada 169 13 7.1% 232 19
20 Japan 169 4 2.3% 123 5
21 Sudan 169 4 2.3% 185 3
22 Ghana 144 20 12.2% 153 29
23 Ukraine 143 11 7.1% 185 6
24 Israel 134 0 0.0% 156 6
25 Australia 123 5 3.9% 120 9
26 Botswana 107 22 17.1% 130 29
27 Thailand 106 22 17.2% 434 26
28 Vietnam 100 16 13.8% 110 9
29 Argentina 98 21 17.6% 98 21
30 Mongolia 95 28 22.8% 110 25
31 Taiwan 93 9 8.8% 83 2
32 Colombia 90 4 4.3% 121 15
33 Bolivia 87 14 13.9% 136 27
34 Russian Federation 79 4 4.8% 139 10
35 Morocco 71 9 11.2% 90 12
36 Korea, Republic of 69 4 5.5% 87 7
37 New Zealand 66 13 16.5% 75 12
38 Iran, Islamic Republic of 59 8 11.9% 87 1
39 Uganda 49 9 15.5% 68 7
40 El Salvador 47 6 11.3% 37 1
41 Costa Rica 40 6 13.0% 77 9
42 Indonesia 38 16 29.6% 43 11
43 Jordan 35 7 16.7% 43 1
44 Tunisia 35 2 5.4% 38 5
45 Peru 32 2 5.9% 20 0
46 Singapore 32 0 0.0% 35 4
47 Lebanon 30 0 0.0% 44 1
48 Mauritius 29 4 12.1% 25 1
49 Paraguay 28 8 22.2% 23 2
50 Panama 26 3 10.3% 21 4
51 Algeria 24 4 14.3% 29 8
52 Palestine 22 1 4.3% 25 2
53 Albania 21 9 30.0% 21 8
54 Cameroon 21 5 19.2% 20 7
55 Malawi 20 0 0.0% 22 1
56 Guatemala 18 3 14.3% 19 3
57 Kazakhstan 18 2 10.0% 31 0
58 Myanmar 17 0 0.0% 20 1
59 Syrian Arab Republic 17 4 19.0% 14 1
60 Georgia 16 2 11.1% 24 8
61 Kyrgyzstan 16 0 0.0% 19 0
62 Moldova, Republic of 16 1 5.9% 22 7
63 Saudi Arabia 15 1 6.2% 11 0
64 Honduras 14 1 6.7% 23 3
65 Lesotho 14 2 12.5% 9 3
66 Venezuela 14 0 0.0% 20 2
67 Iraq 13 1 7.1% 12 0
68 Ecuador 11 1 8.3% 8 2
69 Kosova 11 7 38.9% 27 6
70 Saint Kitts and Nevis 11 0 0.0% 12 1
71 Uruguay 11 0 0.0% 14 7
72 Zambia 11 0 0.0% 17 3
73 Ethiopia 10 3 23.1% 13 0
74 Hong Kong 10 1 9.1% 22 0
75 Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 9.1% 21 0
76 Uzbekistan 10 0 0.0% 23 0
77 Belarus 9 0 0.0% 18 2
78 Nicaragua 9 0 0.0% 8 2
79 Swaziland 8 0 0.0% 6 1
80 Azerbaijan 7 0 0.0% 5 0
81 Congo, The Democratic Republic of the 7 2 22.2% 10 0
82 Tanzania, United Republic of 7 2 22.2% 17 0
83 Afghanistan 6 0 0.0% 6 5
84 Armenia 6 0 0.0% 4 0
85 Guyana 6 0 0.0% 2 0
86 Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 6 2 25.0% 4 0
87 Oman 6 0 0.0% 10 0
88 Republic of Serbia 6 0 0.0% 4 0
89 Rwanda 6 2 25.0% 4 0
90 Serbia 6 0 0.0% 16 1
91 Bahrain 5 0 0.0% 6 0
92 Saint Lucia 5 1 16.7% — —
93 Sierra Leone 5 0 0.0% 3 1
94 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 0 0.0% 2 0
95 Libya 4 1 20.0% 5 1
96 Namibia 4 0 0.0% 6 1
97 Cambodia 3 0 0.0% 1 0
98 Cuba 3 0 0.0% 9 0
99 Kuwait 3 0 0.0% 3 0
100 Seychelles 3 1 25.0% 7 1
101 Angola 2 0 0.0% 1 0
102 Belize 2 1 33.3% 2 0
103 Brunei Darussalam 2 0 0.0% 3 0
104 Congo 2 0 0.0% 2 0
105 Dominica 2 0 0.0% 2 0
106 Maldives 2 0 0.0% 2 0
107 Serbia and Montenegro 2 0 0.0% 1 0
108 Somalia 2 0 0.0% 1 0
109 Tajikistan 2 1 33.3% 11 0
110 Vanuatu 2 0 0.0% 3 1
111 Antigua and Barbuda 1 0 0.0% — —
112 Christmas Island 1 0 0.0% — —
113 Cote d'Ivoire 1 0 0.0% — —
114 Dominican Republic 1 0 0.0% 1 0
115 Eritrea 1 0 0.0% 2 0
116 Grenada 1 0 0.0% 4 1
117 Guinea 1 0 0.0% 1 0
118 Ivory Coast 1 0 0.0% 1 0
119 Jamaica 1 0 0.0% 4 0
120 Liberia 1 0 0.0% — —
121 Mali 1 0 0.0% — —
122 Papua New Guinea 1 0 0.0% — —
123 Senegal 1 2 66.7% 3 0
124 Togo 1 0 0.0% 1 0
125 Turkmenistan 1 0 0.0% 1 0
126 United Kingdom 1 0 0.0% 1 1
127 Mozambique 0 1 100.0% 5 0

* 1 January to 30 September 2026. Refused share = refused ÷ (issued + refused), worked out by Visastat.

Got your permit? The visa comes next

If you're from a country whose citizens need a visa to enter Ireland, the employment permit isn't the last step: you then apply for a long-stay (D) employment visa. Its decision is published on the decision list of the Irish embassy or visa office handling your application — search it here for free, or get an email the moment it appears.

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Questions

How many employment permits did Ireland issue in 2026?

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment issued 29,989 employment permits and refused 3,348 applications from 1 January to 30 September 2026. In 2025 as a whole it issued 31,044 and refused 3,432.

Which nationality gets the most Irish employment permits?

Nationals of India, with 9,120 permits issued and 769 refused from 1 January to 30 September 2026 — 30% of all permits issued.

How often are employment permit applications refused?

Refusals were 10.0% of decided applications from 1 January to 30 September 2026 (refused ÷ issued + refused). This is worked out from DETE's published counts; permits issued and applications refused in the same months aren't exactly the same group of applications, so treat it as a guide.

Is an employment permit the same as an Irish visa?

No. The employment permit lets you work for a specific employer in Ireland. If you are from a country whose citizens need a visa to enter Ireland — India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Türkiye among them — you then apply for a long-stay (D) employment visa, and that decision appears on the decision list of the Irish embassy or visa office handling your application.

Where do these figures come from?

From the employment permit statistics the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment publishes each month. Each year's file counts permits from 1 January to the end of the previous month. This page reproduces the issued and refused counts as published and refreshes them automatically.
Source: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, employment permit statistics 2026 (spreadsheet), reproduced under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations (SI 376/2021). Visastat is independent and not affiliated with DETE or any government body.