Migration from the Baltic region to Ireland

When ten new states joined the EU in 2004, Ireland was one of only three existing EU Member States (along with Sweden and the UK) not to apply temporary restrictions on the entry of citizens from the new Member States.

Many citizens moved from the Baltic region to Ireland: more than 31,000 Lithuanian, 18,000 Latvian and 1,900 Estonian citizens were recorded in Ireland during the 2022 Census.

These communities – including those who return home after a number of years in Ireland – are an important part of the relationship between Ireland and the Baltic States, as they help build bonds of friendship and respect between our countries.

There was also an earlier wave of migration from the region to Ireland: many of Ireland’s Jewish citizens trace their family history to the Baltic region, from which their forebears emigrated in the late 19th and early 20th century.

This historic connection was the focus of an exhibition called “Der Veg Abhaile” (“The Way Home”) which was developed by Jewish Arts and Culture Ireland with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The exhibition was launched in Vilnius in 2024 and there are plans to show it in other Irish diaspora centres worldwide.