Dublin: Indians were allotted the biggest share of work permits issued by Ireland to citizens from other countries during the first six months of this year. As per official data, 40 percent of the work permits issued by Ireland were received by Indian citizens.
Ireland issued 15,336 work permits for foreign citizens from January 1 to June 30 in 2023, of which 5,855 went to Indians. In the second place was Brazil with 1,388 visas, followed by the Philippines with 1,334, Pakistan 773, China 723, South Africa 604 and Nigeria 421.
India also headed the list of countries with rejected applications. Of the 833 rejected applications for work permits, 191 were from Indian citizens.
Ireland issued the highest number of work permits in the health-social care sector. A large number of visas were issued in the Information and Communication sector also. The country faces an acute shortage of personnel in the health-social care area.
According to estimates, Ireland would have 2.1 million people aged 65 years and above by 2051, most of them needing extra care.