Headcount
Nationalities

Ireland

In 2025, 7,000 people of Irish nationality moved to the UK for a year or more, by the ONS's first estimate.

How UK records count nationals of Ireland in 2025.

On this page

UK counts

2025 · By nationality, as the Home Office records it

These counts can overlap. Never add them together.

Moved to the UK
7,000 people
Irish nationality, every EU+ arrival type together, for a year or more.
ONS estimate · 2025 (first estimate) [1]
Visas granted
See 5 routes
A visa gives permission to come. It is not an arrival.
Home Office · grants · 2025 [2]
Asylum claims
1 person
People named on initial claims, main applicants and family members. Counted by claim date, not arrival date.
Home Office · 2025 [3]
Small boat arrivals
0 people detected
People detected arriving by small boat across the English Channel. Figures from January 2025 can still be revised.
Home Office · 2025 [4]
Sources (4)
1 ONS, Long-term international migration, year ending December 2025
Figure 8 of the bulletin for EU+ nationalities, every type together. Table 3e of the dataset for nationalities outside the EU+, on a visa.
Published 21 May 2026. Official statistics in development.
2 Home Office, entry clearance visa datasets, year ending June 2026
Entry clearance visas granted, main applicants and family members together, by date of decision.
Published 27 August 2026. Accredited official statistics.
3 Home Office, asylum claims dataset (Asy_D01)
Initial claims, main applicants and family members, by date of claim.
Published 27 August 2026. Accredited official statistics.
4 Home Office, illegal entry routes dataset
Small boat arrivals by nationality, people detected, calendar years from 2018.
Published 27 August 2026. Official statistics.
Visa routes5 routes · 2025

Home Office · grants · 2025

A visa gives permission to come. It is not an arrival.

  • Work visas3 grants

    Includes family members of workers, and seasonal and other short work visas.

  • Study visas1 grant

    Includes family members of students.

  • Family visas0 grants

    The family route, including refugee family reunion. Not the family members counted in work or study.

  • Safe route visas0 grants

    The BN(O) route and the Ukraine schemes.

  • Other visas0 grants

    All other visas, including EU Settlement Scheme permits and visas for resettled refugees.

Selected visa routes4 grants

Added here Work, study, family and safe route grants added up here, 3 + 1 + 0 + 0. Excludes other visas. Not all visas, and not arrivals.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens did not need a visa to move to the UK until the end of 2020, so their visa figures are close to zero before 2021.

History

Showing Moved to the UK, ONS estimate, people.

Irish nationality, every EU+ arrival type together, for a year or more.

Options

Sources (1)

ONS, Long-term international migration, year ending December 2025

Country context

These describe country populations, not people who moved to the UK. They do not explain migration.

Population people

Ireland

5,484,367

2025 [1]

UK

69,487,000

2025 [1]

The UK figure is the World Bank's, so both countries come from one source. The ONS estimates the UK population at 69,483,939 on 30 June 2025 (published 1 October 2026).

Life expectancy years at birth, both sexes

Ireland

83.0

2024 [2]

UK

81.4

2024 [2]

GDP per person constant 2021 international dollars

Ireland

131,338

2025 [3]

UK

53,993

2025 [3]

GDP at purchasing power parity, not earnings or household income.

Sources (3)
1 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.POP.TOTL
The record for Ireland. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
Unit as published, people.
2 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.DYN.LE00.IN
The record for Ireland. Latest observation in the file, 2024. Rounded for display.
Unit as published, years.
3 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD
The record for Ireland. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
Unit as published, constant 2021 international dollars.
More contextLiteracy, unemployment and urban population

Adult literacy people aged 15 and over, %

Ireland

Not published

UK

Not published

Unemployment share of the labour force, %

Ireland

4.6%

2025 · Modelled estimate [1]

UK

4.7%

2025 · Modelled estimate [1]

Urban population share of residents, %

Ireland

64.6%

2025 [2]

UK

83.3%

2025 [2]

National definitions differ.

Sources (2)
1 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate).
The record for Ireland. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
Unit as published, % of total labour force.
2 World Bank, World Development Indicators, series SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
Urban population (% of total population).
The record for Ireland. Latest observation in the file, 2025. Rounded for display.
Unit as published, % of total population.
ReligionsIreland and the UK

These records describe residents in each country. They do not show the religions of people who moved to the UK.

Not directly comparable. Different years and categories.

Ireland

2022 census · UNdata [1]

  • Agnostic2,949 people
  • Apostolic13,632 people
  • Atheist966 people
  • Baha'i457 people
  • Baptist4,262 people
  • No Religion755,455 people
  • Not Stated345,165 people

UK

2011 census · UNdata [2]

  • Buddhist261,584 people
  • Christian37,583,962 people
  • Hindu835,418 people
  • Jewish269,568 people
  • Muslim2,786,635 people
  • No Religion16,221,509 people
  • Not Specified4,528,323 people
Sources (2)
1 UNdata, Demographic Statistics Database, population by religion (table 28)
Ireland, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. Counts of people, total area, both sexes.
Census year 2022. UNdata lists it as received in 2025.
2 UNdata, Demographic Statistics Database, population by religion (table 28)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. Counts of people, total area, both sexes.
Census year 2011. UNdata lists it as received in 2014.

Questions people ask

How many people of Irish nationality moved to the UK in 2025?

In 2025, 7,000 people of Irish nationality moved to the UK for a year or more, by the ONS's first estimate. Source: ONS, Long-term international migration, year ending December 2025.

How many UK visas were granted to nationals of Ireland in 2025?

In 2025, the Home Office granted 3 work, 1 study, 0 family, 0 safe route and 0 other visas to nationals of Ireland, counting main applicants and family members. Source: Home Office, entry clearance visa datasets, year ending June 2026.

How many nationals of Ireland claimed asylum in the UK in 2025?

In 2025, 1 national of Ireland claimed asylum in the UK, counting main applicants and family members by date of claim. Source: Home Office, asylum claims dataset (Asy_D01).

How many nationals of Ireland arrived in the UK by small boat in 2025?

In 2025, 0 nationals of Ireland were detected arriving in the UK by small boat across the English Channel. Figures from January 2025 can still be revised. Source: Home Office, illegal entry routes dataset.

All nationalitiesThe full A to Z table, with Ireland selected