Irish visa for Lesotho citizens

• Holding Lesotho passport that is valid for six months beyond the period of the intended stay in Ireland.
• Proof of onward travel (departure) from Ireland.

• Maseru: The Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Maseru, Lesotho (Working hours: Close now. Open in 6 hours 27 minutes)

Ireland visa applications & requirements (For reference purposes only, please visit the nearest Ireland diplomatic mission offices to Lesotho for guidance)

The line chart shows the number of visitors from Lesotho traveling to Ireland from 2008 to 2018.

Year	Number of visitors (Lesotho) estimated	Change (%)
2008	883	N/A
2009	791	-10.42%
2010	785	-0.76%
2011	839	6.88%
2012	830	-1.07%
2013	909	9.52%
2014	969	6.60%
2015	1,048	8.15%
2016	1,111	6.01%
2017	1,137	2.34%
2018	1,202	5.72%

References: UNWTO.org, World Bank and multiple sources. (This data is for informational purposes only. Please see our disclaimer page for more information.)

Ireland's area is approximately 68,890 km2 (26,598 sq mi), while the area of Lesotho is approximately 30,360 km2 (11,722 sq mi). This means Lesotho is 2.27 times smaller than Ireland.

As of November 2025, Ireland's population is ~5.2 million people - 2,988,832 more people than the population of Lesotho.

We have highlighted Ireland & Lesotho’s relative positions on world's map for your reference.

	Ireland	Lesotho	Difference
Population (est 2025)	5,216,770	2,227,938	3.0 million more people live in Ireland than Lesotho
Number of diplomatic missions abroad (est)	87	14	Ireland has 73 more diplomatic representations abroad compared with Lesotho.
Travel freedom (2025)	135	48	Ireland passport holders can visit 87 more countries and territories without a visa.
Number of foreign missions hosted	82	7	Irish hosts 75 more foreign missions than Lesotho.