Australian working holiday visas for Irish double in a year

There has been a lot of social media reaction following figures which were released which detailed more than 21,000 Irish citizens were granted Australian working holiday visas in the last year.

This is the highest recorded figure in at least 16 years and according to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, 21,525 working holiday visas were granted to Irish citizens between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

This means the number of visas allocated has more than doubled to the year previous which was 10,491.

The figures have caused mixed social media reaction on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. 

One user said: “Most of my friends and family have done the working holiday in Australia & we have all returned to Ireland. Australia has many of the same problems as Ireland with housing plus it is on the verge of climate collapse & can be a very cut-throat culture. It's great craic for a year.”

Another user said: “Jobs aren't the issue. It's a cost of living/quality of life choice. If I was 20 years younger I'd be gone.”

Although the figures are expected to rise in the coming years, many users do suspect a large number of Irish citizens will return from the land down under to settle.