Palestinian students more likely to be refused an Irish visa than students from any other country

FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal holds a Palestinian flag as he celebrates with his team atop a bus after winning the Spanish La Liga title in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo)

Students from Palestine are more likely to be refused an Irish visa than students from any other country, official figures show.

In 2025, Ireland refused 22 out of 164 Palestinian applications for long-stay study visas, a refusal rate of 13%. This year, however, 114 out of 138 applications have been refused, equivalent to a refusal rate of 83%.

The number of refusals increased by almost 420% year-on-year.

Many of the countries that send the largest numbers of students to Ireland, including the US, Canada, Britain, Mexico, Malaysia, and Brazil, do not require visas.

Department of Justice figures for countries whose students do require visas show that Palestinian applicants were this year more than 2.3 times as likely to be refused as applicants from Nigeria, which recorded the second-highest refusal rate. 

This year, 1,393 Nigerian students applied for long-stay study visas and 506 were refused, representing a refusal rate of 36%. In 2025, 445 of 1,106 applications were refused (40%).

Indian students accounted for the highest number of applications in both years, with 11,095 applications in 2025 and 7,014 in 2026.

In 2025, some 1,979 Indian applications were refused, a refusal rate of 18%. This year, 2,218 applications were refused (32%).

While the number of applications fell sharply, the number of refusals increased by 12% year-on-year, and the refusal rate rose by 14 percentage points.

Of the 743 student visa applications from Turkey in 2025, 562 were refused, a refusal rate of 76%. This year, 108 out of 359 applications were refused (30%). The number of refusals fell by 81% year-on-year.

In 2025, 172 Kuwaiti students applied for visas, and five were refused, a refusal rate of 3%.

In 2026, 135 applications were received and 139 visas were granted. The number of visas issued exceeded the number of applications received during the year because some applications lodged in previous years were decided in 2026.

As a result, a year-on-year comparison of refusal rates is not meaningful. However, the number of refusals fell from five in 2025 to none in 2026.

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The difference in figures was described by Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik as illustrative of “a rightward shift” in the change of approach by the Department of Justice to Palestinian students.

“These figures demonstrate the stark injustice shown to students who have gone through all the academic processes, have been granted fully funded scholarships, and are now, at the 11th hour, getting visa refusals,” said Ms Bacik.

“It is most unjust, and it’s causing enormous distress to students.”

A Department of Justice spokesperson said applicants are advised to provide all relevant information in support of their application.

They added: “Guidelines in this regard are posted on our website.

“People who carefully follow these guidelines have an improved prospect of receiving a positive decision.”

Some Palestinian students who have been refused visas were told that they had submitted insufficient documentation regarding previous education or work qualifications.

Advocates have argued that, after three years of war, the civilian infrastructure needed to obtain such documents no longer exists in Gaza.