Visas

Policy for consideration of short-stay ‘C’ visas

Persons who are not citizens of Ireland and who are not a national of one of the countries listed here are required to have a valid Irish visa to land in the State (section 4(5)(b) of the Immigration Act, 2004).

All applicants for a single-trip or multi-trip short-stay ‘C’ visit visa must show that they have sufficiently strong family, social or economic ties to a place of residence in a country other than Ireland to assure the visa officer assessing the application that the projected stay in Ireland will be temporary and in accordance with the duration and conditions of the permission granted on arrival in Ireland. The maximum stay allowed under a ‘C’ visa is 90 days.

The responsibility for demonstrating substantial ties to a country other than Ireland rests with you, the applicant. The burden of proof in all cases is on you to satisfy the deciding officer. The deciding officer may verify any evidence submitted in support of your application.

There is no right to a visa nor is there one set of documents or circumstances of application that will guarantee the approval of an application. However, the documents normally required in support of an application are listed here.

In assessing an application, a visa officer may look at the following issues:

that you will leave Ireland at the end of your visit;
that you, or relatives or friends in Ireland who are sponsoring your trip, have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or accessing public funds;
that you have proof of return or onward travel arrangements;
that you will not breach the Common Travel Area by seeking to enter the UK via Ireland without a valid UK visa;
your immigration history in relation to Ireland, the UK, the Schengen Zone and other countries;

and any other issue which the visa officer deems relevant.

A history of serious crimes committed by the applicant, serious breaches of Irish or UK immigration law or presentation of false documentation or making of false statements in support of an application can, of themselves, be reasons for refusal of a visa for which an appeal may not be allowed. This is the norm in many countries.

In summary, you will need to show clearly the following:

that you will leave Ireland before your visa/permission to remain expire
that you have sufficient resources to look after yourself while you are here
that you are of good character and have told the truth in your application and have not left out anything important
that you are not using a visa to Ireland as a way of getting around lawful entry to the UK or the rest of the EU.

Policy in relation to visas for purposes of family reunification is currently being developed. Therefore, consideration of visa applications from dependent relatives in the ascending line to join family members in Ireland is temporarily suspended, for a number of weeks, pending publication of the policy.

Applications may continue to be made but applicants should note that these will be considered in the framework of the policy when published. This does not apply to visa applications from family members of persons exercising free movement rights under Directive 2004/38/EC.

Visa Scam: INIS has recently been made aware of a visa scam. To read more about this please click on the following link. Please read - Important Notice!

Note: Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme

As and from 1 November 2012 nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina may avail of the Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme.

If you are from one of seventeen listed countries and planning to travel to the UK for tourism or business purposes from 1 July 2011, you will now be able to add on a trip to Ireland without the need to obtain an Irish visa in addition to your UK visa. Read more here.....

These pages answer some common questions about Irish visas, and show you how to apply for a visa. This information is for guidance only and does not limit the discretion of the Irish authorities in individual visa or immigration cases.

Not all non-EEA nationals need an Irish visa when coming to Ireland.

A visa is a form of pre-entry clearance. It does not guarantee permission to enter Ireland. A short-stay (C) visa is for stays of up to 90 days. A long-stay (D) visa is for stays of longer than 90 days.

An Immigration Officer at the port of entry decides whether or not to admit a person to the State. The Immigration Officer also decides how long a person may remain in Ireland.

Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa to enter Ireland. (List of Countries) S.I. 417 of 2012 Schedule 1

Citizens of all other countries need a visa when coming to Ireland, even if already living in Ireland. However, some family members of EU nationals, and some holders of travel documents issued in accordance with Section 28 of the Geneva Convention, may not always need an Irish visa S.I. No. 417 of 2012 - Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2012

Citizens of some countries need a visa to transit through an Irish port or airport, even if they are only passing through that port to travel on to another country. Further details can be found on Transit Visas web page.

Additional links

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