Half of undocumented migrants applying to stay in Ireland come from Brazil, China, and Pakistan

Undocumented migrants and their supporters at a rally at Government Buildings last December celebrating the scheme to regularise the status of long-term undocumented migrants. File picture: Damien Storan

Nearly half of all applications in a scheme allowing undocumented migrants to stay in Ireland came from just three countries, Brazil, Pakistan, and China.

The Department of Justice said there had been more than 8,300 individual applicants — including families — for the scheme, which had so far generated more than €3.73m in fees.

The department said that 2,835 applications have been granted with another 39 withdrawn while just 34 applications have been refused.

Applications relating to 5,307 people are yet to be determined while the figures also show that a significant majority of applications came from men, or around 64% of the total.

The highest number of applications came from citizens of Brazil from where there were 1,504 people applying to regularise their status.

There were a further 1,307 applicants from Pakistan and 1,159 from China, including Hong Kong, according to department figures.

Significant numbers of applicants also came from the Philippines (751 applicants), Nigeria (446 applicants), and India (313 applicants).

There were also 26 people from Russia applying for regularisation of their status and 77 from Ukraine, the figures show.

Thirty three applicants came from US citizens, and 13 each from Canada and New Zealand, and 13 from an “unknown” country.

The largest number of applications were in the age groups between 26 and 45, with just over 60% of applicants within that age range.

Applications were also made on behalf of 905 children aged 12 and under, and 229 related to teenagers between 13 and 18.

There were also 12 applications for regularisation from people who were 76 years of age or over.

A 2020 citizenship ceremony at Killarney Convention Centre. While such events are not solely for migrants without documents, the applications to the recent scheme could be a step on the path to citizenship. File picture: Valerie O’Sullivan

A separate scheme to allow asylum seekers who have been in the international protection system for a lengthy period to remain in Ireland has already generated just over 3,100 applications.

So far, 359 scheme applicants have been refused but advised of their right to appeal that decision, the department said.

They said 949 “grant decisions” had been issued so far while 839 people had been granted an equivalent or higher level of permission within the international protection system.

Around two thirds of applications under the scheme were from men, with 2,032 applications from males and 1,076 from females.

More than 500 of the applicants were from Georgia, a further 392 applicants were from Nigeria, and 356 were from Pakistan.

There were also at least 100 applications from Albania (313), Zimbabwe (261), South Africa (253), Algeria (176), and Bangladesh (134).

The highest number of applicants were again in the age categories of 26 to 45, with 1,828 of the 3,108 coming from that group. There were also 432 applications from children aged 12 and under, and 152 from teenagers.

The Department of Justice said no fees had been collected through this scheme and that the final number of applications may still rise.

A spokesman for the department said that the “once-in-a-generation scheme” for the undocumented had been intended to regularise the status of thousands of undocumented migrants and their families.

He said: “One of the main concerns for the minister was that people who are in an undocumented situation are burdened with a great deal of stress and uncertainty regarding their position in society.

“Unfortunately, this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation due to their precarious legal situation. However, this scheme provided an opportunity for those who applied, and met its criteria, to remain and reside in the State and to become part of mainstream Irish society rather than living on its margins.” 

The spokesman added that applicants were being examined “pragmatically and humanely” with supports in place for all who made an application.