Type of Visa

The first question you will be asked is the type of visa you are applying for – Short Stay (C) or Long Stay (D).

A Short Stay (C) Visa is issued for a stay of 90 days or less for the purpose of Tourism, Visit family/friend, Business, Conference, Transit, and some visas which will come under the category of ‘Other’.

A Long Stay (D) Visa will not be issued for any of the above reasons, but may be given for the purpose of Employment, Study, or Joining Spouse/Partner/Parent, and certain other categories.
Single or Multiple Journey

The next question you will be asked is ‘Journey Type’ – whether this is Single or Multiple.

• A Single Journey visa will allow you to seek entry to Ireland on one occasion only within the dates shown on the visa.
• A Multiple Journey visa will allow you seek entry to Ireland on a number of occasions within the dates shown on the visa.

Note on Multiple Entry Visas
It is not our general practice to issue Multiple-Journey visas unless you have shown a compliant travel history to Ireland in the recent past.
For a Short Stay visa, if you have held 2 previous Irish visas and have observed the conditions of these visas (e.g. you did not overstay or work illegally) you may apply for a Multiple-Journey visa.
However, the purpose of these visas is to allow a person to travel to Ireland on a number of occasions during the dates shown on the visa, for short trips only. It is not permitted to use this category of visa to bypass immigration rules governing residency in the State – i.e. it is not possible to remain in Ireland for a period of 90 days and then seek to re-enter the country for further periods of up to 90 days. Any abuse of this may result in future applications being refused. The issuance of a Multiple Journey visa will be at the discretion of the Visa Officer.

If you are applying for a Long Stay (D) visa to work**, study or join family members you should apply for a Single Journey only.

**If you are the holder of a Green Card, issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, or you are a nurse who holds a Work Permit, you can apply for a Multiple-Journey Visa.

Any person who is issued with a Long Stay (D) visa, whether Single or Multiple Journey, and intends to remain in Ireland for a period exceeding 90 days must register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) within 90 days of arrival in the State. (Please see The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) for further details).

Once you have been issued with a Garda Registration Card you can apply for a Multiple-Journey Re-entry Visa, if necessary. For further information on this matter please see our VisasFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Re-entry Visas on www.inis.gov.ie