Over 11,000 Nigerians Apply for Asylum in Ireland

Between 2013 and 2025, at least 11,040 Nigerians applied for asylum in Ireland, according to data from the Irish Refugee Council's Asylum Information Database. The annual breakdown shows fluctuating application numbers, with 130 applicants in 2013, peaking at 4,037 in 2024, and dropping to 1,940 in 2025.

Nigeria was the leading nationality for asylum applications in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024, while it ranked second behind Zimbabwe in 2019 and Somalia in 2025. The 2024 report indicated that Nigerian applicants constituted 21.7% of total asylum seekers, while in 2025, they made up 14.75%.

Overall, Ireland received at least 80,656 asylum applications during the reviewed period, with Nigerians accounting for 13.69% of all applicants. Rejection rates for Nigerian applicants were notably high in earlier years, reaching 96.7% in 2012, but fell to 14.3% in 2021, with many granted humanitarian permission to remain instead of full refugee status.