In the 12 months to April 2025, 6,100 Irish people emigrated to America. But the figure for Americans emigrating to Ireland was a third higher, at 9,600. The fact that this number has suddenly jumped by 96% suggests it might not be a permanent trend, but while it lasts, it might be a significant one, especially for Ireland.
3 million Americans hold an Irish passport, and 10s of millions more are eligible for one. Add to that, Italian passports are easy to obtain for Americans with Italian ancestry. An Irish or Italian passport is an EU passport, meaning you can work, start a business, and reside freely anywhere in the EU as an EU citizen. Even after Brexit, Ireland and the UK allow each other's citizens to work and reside freely in each other's countries, too.
Might the centuries-long trend of European-American emigrant traffic be about to reverse, too?
96% jump in number of people coming from the US to live in Ireland
In a reversal of a centuries-old trend, more people are emigrating from America to Ireland than the other way around. Might the centuries-long trend of Europe-to-America emigrant traffic be about to reverse, too?
byu/lughnasadh inFuturology
20 Comments
EU economy is sinking because of the sanctions against Russia. I bet these are more people who do remote working, who are retirees or rich enough to afford not working who go to Europe. Especially Ireland and Portugal have less time difference with the US.
This has to be THE least scientific article posted here in awhile.
One number (one very SMALL number) alters in a year and the question is “Might the centuries-long trend of European-American emigrant traffic be about to reverse, too?”
How is this even a serious question SMH
Literally in Portugal right now scouting for a possible move next year. From what I’m hearing and seeing, this headline does not surprise me.
Interesting and worth the post, even if not a scientific study. Thousands of independent individuals made that decision and unless there is any specific Ireland-related trigger(?), this is relevant beyond Ireland, in my view. Is there any demographic data, such as age classes, also education levels? I note that Ireland hosts headquarters of some large tech companies. Are there data for other EU countries that point to any potentially starting wider brain drain from US?
The problem is that European nations will never have the permissive immigration policy that America maintained for most of its existence.
The current state of America is not only restrictive but so wildly undesirable that immigration has fallen to almost nothing but that doesn’t mean we’re going to see a real outflow in the same way because no nation would allow it.
FYI Italy actually just made it way harder for descendants to obtain citizenship as of March of this year.
No mention of taxes, of course, which are one of the biggest reasons to move to Ireland. It makes sense. Who wants people to know they have the option of leaving high-tax countries for countries that are incredible in many ways, including taxes, like Ireland? Right?
The few Americans who move to the ROI are doing so because it’s cheaper to: study there (while being in an English-speaking country) or retire there. An even smaller subset are of actual working age due to the very high COL and lower salaries (Dublin has Manhattan rents but Kansas salaries)
I think it’s great that more Americans are traveling and living abroad, it’s a big world out there and more people should see it, but this isn’t some forewarning that a certain terminally online crowd desires for
Ireland isn’t that big, it will stop soon just because they ran out of room
You can use the words *emigrate* and *immigrate* for the same group depending on the phrasing, so in the following sentence, *emigrating* is used incorrectly:
>But the figure for Americans emigrating to Ireland was a third higher, at 9,600.
The quote should read: “But the figure for Americans immigrating to Ireland was a third higher, at 9,600.” A person immigrates to a country, while simultaneously emigrating from their home country. When you said, “More people are emigrating from America to Ireland than the other way around,” you started with *from America* before saying *to Ireland*, so the use of *emigrating* was correct there.
I’m not trying to be pedantic. I’ve just noticed that a lot of people use the word *immigrants* in a derogatory/negative way about certain “unfavorable” groups immigrating/emigrating and *emigrants* in a positive way about other favorable groups immigrating/emigrating, regardless of the context or its use in a sentence. This can show bias/favoritism, or it can be suggestive that the OP is American and relating everything from their perspective, or it can be from ignorance of the grammar.
I’ve always said that people vote best with their feet (meaning, which country they leave / go to). At the end of the day, that’s the only true way to measure which country is **better**. So, it can be said, as a fact of reality, that Ireland is **better** than Trump’s US.
I wanna know how much these people moving to Ireland are making. Because with their housing crisis going on. You’d have to be making some serious money to afford to move there. Just look at a house price over there. And traditionally the people moving to America are either dirt poor or mega rich. Majority wise. Like the middle ground people usually stay put it seems. Irish immigration to the USA was historically due to famines and job opportunity. That’s all European immigration to the states.
Got my passport last week. I have five countries as possible new homes. Lifelong US citizen and career scientist. Every day it gets scarier in America for anyone who isn’t wealthy and not in the typical “rich people make their own rules” sense.
I’m one Supreme Court ruling from taking my three degrees and scientific research background to a country that still values science and providing government sponsored social programs to people who need them.
Peace out America. You had a good run
Fgs there is not enough housing or enough jobs in Ireland as it is, please can Americans stop romanticising countries they know nothing about and stick to their beloved air conditioning and fascism
anyone know why this is happening? not completely aware of the economic difference between the two countries. although, it does appear almost every country is more hospitable than America due to how expensive it’s been since Covid.
If it wasn’t for family considerations here in the states, I’d already be living in Europe now.
I am not sure the trend is reversal. There has been net migration from the US to Ireland a lot over the last 25 years. Graph i just made [https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1n0xfpa/people_moving_to_ireland_from_the_us_nearly/](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1n0xfpa/people_moving_to_ireland_from_the_us_nearly/)
When I went to Ireland in 2016, all the cab driver wanted to discuss was how great he thought Trump was.
So why would anyone go there?
This started about 20 years ago. All the people I worked with in SV moved back to Ireland.
I’d bet a lot of these Americans are LGBT. I’d be getting the hell out of there too if I was in their situation.