Thousands of Canadian work permits were made available to young Irish people from last night.

People aged between 18 and 35 are invited to apply for 10,700 new work permits.

They include Working Holiday permits, Young Professionals permits, and International 'Co-Op' permits for those who've been granted an internship.

Almost 30,000 people have moved from Ireland to Canada since 2011.

Research indicates that Irish emigrants find the greatest degree of happiness in the North American country.

Alan Regan, Editor of the Moving2Canada website said the vast majority of the visas are working Holiday Permits:

“The great thing about them is you don’t need to have a job lined up you can simply go on to the Canadian Immigration website and you can apply for your work permit," he said.

“It will take a little while to get it but once you have it, you can live in Canada for up to two years and you can work for any employer that is eligible once you arrive.”

The permits are part of the 2018 International Experience Canada initiative that allows young people from 33 countries live and work there.