Ireland Paying Asylum Seekers to Return Home

Asylum seekers are to be offered an allowance of €2,500 – or €10,000 for a family – if they drop their claim for international protection, leave the State and return home.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order increasing the existing voluntary return grant, which will be available to people in the asylum system, before September 28th, who are awaiting a decision on their status.

The move, part of a general toughening of the State’s asylum regime, is intended to incentivise people who may not have a valid claim for international protection, or asylum, to leave the State voluntarily. It would reduce the costs associated with considering asylum claims and accommodating individuals while the process – which can be lengthy and expensive – unfolds.

Figures from the Department of Justice suggest that processing an average international protection application is estimated to cost €122,000 per person. This includes costs for accommodation and food, social protection payments, healthcare and education.

The cost of deportations is also considerable. Earlier this year, the department said a charter flight deporting 35 people to Nigeria had cost €325,000.

A voluntary return allowance of €1,200 per person or €2,000 per family is offered at present. Under this scheme, 1,159 people have already left the State by September 19th, 2025, an increase of 129 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

Now, in an attempt to ease pressure on the asylum system and cut costs, those payments will increase substantially.

For individuals awaiting a first decision in the asylum process, the payment will increase to €2,500 per person, with a maximum of €10,000 per family unit.

If people are in the appeals process – having been refused asylum in the first instance – and decide to voluntarily leave before the appeal is concluded, they will be eligible to receive an allowance of up to €1,500 per person, or €6,000 per family unit.

There are safeguards in place for vulnerable people, and return requests can be refused if it would be unsafe for the person to return home, say officials. Additionally, the option is not offered to those convicted of serious criminality.

Participants can arrange their own return independently. Or they can be assisted with travel costs, financial aid and administrative support by the Voluntary Return Unit in the up, or through its partner, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration.

Several EU states and the UK operate similar voluntary return schemes, as countries grapple with increased numbers of asylum seekers and growing public resistance.