IRELAND VISA REQUIREMENTS

  1. Application letter

Type or write a letter explaining why you want to come to Ireland. Sign and date the letter and submit it with your documents.

Your letter must include your full name and postal address, and:

  • The reason you want to come to Ireland
  • The dates you plan to arrive and leave
  • The place(s) you will stay, eg home address of your friend/family, hotel, hostel, B&B, etc
  • A description of who will pay (or help to pay) for your vacation, eg you, friend/family

If you are visiting a friend(s), your letter must also include:

  • The name(s) and address(es) of your friend(s) in Ireland
  • A description of how you and your friend(s) know each other
  • The names and addresses of any members of your family who also live in Ireland (even if you will not visit them)
  • The names and addresses of any members of your family who currently live in any other EU/EEA country or Switzerland

If you are visiting family, your letter must also include:

  • The names and addresses of all members of your family who live in Ireland (including family members you will not be visiting)
  • The names and addresses of any members of your family who currently live in any other EU/EEA country or Switzerland

Your letter must also include a commitment from you that you will:

  • Obey the conditions of your visa in full
  • Not use any publicly funded services in Ireland (eg a public hospital) or become a burden on the Irish State
  • Leave Ireland before your immigration permission expires

 

iii. Invitation letter

Ask the friend(s) or family member(s) you plan to visit in Ireland to type or write a letter that states that they are inviting you to visit them here. Ask them to sign and date the letter. Include it with your application.

The letter must state:

  • The reason they are inviting you to Ireland
  • The dates they plan to see you in Ireland
  • A description of how they know you

The letter must include:

  • A photocopy of the picture page of their passport or National Identity Card (including Irish citizens)

The letter must also include a statement by your friend(s) or family member(s) that they understand you must:

  • Obey the conditions of your visa in full
  • Not use any publicly funded services in Ireland (eg a public hospital) or become a burden on the Irish State
  • Leave Ireland before your immigration permission expires

You must get a separate letter from each friend/family member you are visiting who has a different home address. A single letter for friends/family who live at the same address is acceptable.

Conditional requirements for the invitation letter

If you are invited to stay with your friend(s) or family member(s) in their home, the letter must state:

  • That they are inviting you to stay with them
  • The dates you are invited to stay and their full postal address

If the friend(s) or family member(s) inviting you to Ireland is a non-EU/EEA and non-Swiss citizen, the letter must include:

If your friend(s) or family member(s) will help to pay for your vacation, the letter must include:

iv. Accommodation plan

Type or write a description of everywhere you will stay in Ireland, including the dates you will stay at each place.

If you are staying with your friend or family in their home

For each friend or family member you stay with, include their:

  • Full name
  • Full home address in Ireland
  • The dates you will stay with them

For each friend or family member you stay with, you must include proof that they live at their address. To do so, ask them to send you an original utility bill (on headed paper) from within the last 6 months and include it with your application, for example:

  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Water
  • Fixed line telephone, TV or broadband
  • A print out of a bill from the internet cannot be accepted

 

vii. Photographs

Include 2 passport-sized colour photographs of the visa applicant 35 X 50mm white background.

 

viii. Finance plan

You must show that you have enough finance (money) to support yourself fully in Ireland.

Note: There is no minimum amount of finance for approving or refusing a visa application. The visa officer will decide if you have enough based on your own circumstances.

If you are paying for your own vacation

Include an up-to-date bank statement with your documents. The bank statement must:

  • Be original and be on headed bank paper, ie an internet print-out is not acceptable
  • Show your name and address
  • Show the bank account number and account type, eg checking/current account, savings/deposit account
  • Show money paid in and out of the account over the last 6 months
  • Include a written explanation of any large movements in or out of your account

If you submit a bank statement from a savings/deposit account, you must include an original letter from your bank (on headed paper) that confirms you can withdraw money from it.

If your family/friend in Ireland is helping to pay for your vacation

Type or write an estimate of how much your friend/family member will spend (in Euro) and what they will pay for (if appropriate), eg cost of airline tickets in Euro.

Your friend/family member must also show that they can afford these costs. This applies to any friends/family members who will help to pay for your vacation, including Irish citizens.

To so, you must ask them to send you the following original documents and include them with your application:

  • An up-to-date bank statement, following the same rules as described above
  • If they are employed, they must provide:
    • Their 3 most recent payslips
    • Their most recent P60 (tax document)
    • A letter from their employer that confirms they are employed

You must also include your own personal bank statement, following the same rules as described above.

If someone else (a third party) is helping to pay for your vacation or studies

Type or write a description that explains how and why your vacation is being paid for by a third party. You must also include the third party’s:

  • Full name and address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address (if available)
  • Website (if appropriate)

You must also include your own personal bank statement, following the same rules as described above.

ix. Proof you will return home

You must include proof that you will leave Ireland when your vacation ends.

To do so, you must show that you have a strong obligation to return home (ie to your country of residence) for economic, social or family reasons.

Work

If you have a job at home, you must show that you have an obligation to return to it. To do so, you should provide:

  • Your 3 most recent original payslips
  • A letter from your employer that states:
    • How long you have been employed there
    • The dates you are on vacation
    • The date you will be returning to work in that job

 

Family

If you have a family at home, you must prove that you will return to them.

To do so, type or write a description of your family, including:

  • Your family status, eg married, co-habiting, separated, divorced, bereaved, etc.
  • Any children or dependents, eg elderly parents

If you are married and your spouse is not coming to Ireland with you, you should include your original Marriage Certificate with your application.

If you have children aged under 18 and they are not coming to Ireland with you, you should include their original Birth Certificates with your application.

Property

If you own or rent property in your country of residence, type or write a description of it and include it with your application.

You should also include other documents as proof, eg your original tenancy/rental agreement or a photocopy of your property title deed.

x. Visa refusals

If you were ever refused a visa by any country, type or write a description about it.

You must also include the original letter sent to you by the authorities that refused your application.

Note: Your application for an Irish visa will be refused if you do not include information about past visa refusals.