Citizens of certain countries must apply for an entry visa before they travel to Ireland. This is to ensure that when they arrive at an airport or ferry terminal, they may lawfully enter Ireland. If you require a tourist visa and do not have one when you arrive in Ireland, you will not be allowed to enter the country.

If you are or will be visiting Ireland for a short period (less than 3 months) and you require a visa, you must present the following documents with your visa application:

    - a letter from a reference in Ireland inviting you to come to Ireland. The letter should include contact details for the reference, proposed dates for your stay and details of where you will be staying.

        OR

    - confirmation of a hotel booking containing the dates of your proposed stay.

        AND

    - evidence that you have enough money to maintain yourself during your stay in Ireland. This evidence should be in the form of a bank/building society statement or equivalent document.

        OR

    - A letter from your reference in Ireland pledging to support you financially during your stay in Ireland. The reference may be requested to show that he or she has sufficient funds to do this (e.g., a bank statement).

        AND

    - Evidence that you are obliged to return to your country of residence. This evidence can take the form of a letter from your employer detailing when you are expected to return to work or a letter from a college specifying the date on which your course of study re-commences. If you do not work or study, a letter from a person in authority may be sufficient.

Please note that initially you will only be granted with a single journey visa valid until from the date of arrival to Ireland until the date of departure. You will need to have an booked airline ticket with confirmed dates this is how the authorities will know when do you arrive and when do you leave.

What do I do after my arrival if I wish to stay in Ireland for longer than 3 months?

If you are not an EU/EEA citizen and wish to stay in Ireland for longer than 3 months for reasons of work, study or other reasons, you must seek permission to remain in Ireland. You must contact the Department of Justice through the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) or, your local Garda station. (See 'Where to apply' below). If you are not an EU/EEA citizen, you will also require a re-entry visa if you wish to leave Ireland and subsequently return. You can obtain this 'Re-entry Visa' from the Re-entry Visa Processing Office of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (see 'Where to apply') below. You can download the Re-entry Visa Application form under 'How to apply' below). The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Foreign Affairs or any Irish embassy or Consulate may ask for additional documentation at any stage of the process.

Standard non-refundable visa application processing fees are:

-Single-journey     60 euro
-Multiple-journey     100 euro


People who do not require visas to visit Ireland

    - Citizens of EU/EEA member states
    - Citizens of the countries listed in the table below

You require a visa if you are not an EU/EEA citizen and your country is not listed below.

Andorra
Antigua & Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Botswana
Brunei
Chile
Croatia
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong*
Japan
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritius
Monaco
New Zealand
Macau (Special Admin. Region)
Norway
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Paraguay
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Seychelles
Solomon Islands
Switzerland
Samoa
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Vanuata
Venezuela
Australia
Argentina
Barbados
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Costa Rica
Dominica
Fiji
Grenada
Guyana
Iceland
Israel
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Malaysia
Mexico
Nauru
Nicaragua
Maldives
Panama
Saint Lucia
San Marino
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Swaziland
Tonga
Tuvala
Uruguay
Vatican City


How to apply

Send your application for a tourist visa to the Irish embassy or Consulate in or accredited to the country in which you normally live.
Please note that if you are living in a country other than you hold a passport from you need to have be legal resident in that country in order to apply for a visa.
 
If there is no Irish Embassy or Consulate in your country, send your visa application to your nearest Irish embassy or Consulate or, the Visa Office, Department of Foreign Affairs, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.
The Department of Foreign Affairs recommends that if you are applying from abroad you should allow 6-8 weeks for your visa application to be processed.

If you wish to remain in Ireland as a tourist for more than 3 months, you must get in touch with the Garda National Immigration Bureau or your local Garda Station for permission to remain.
Re-entry Visas

If you are a non-EU/EEA citizen, wish to remain in Ireland as a tourist for more than 3 months but would like to leave and return, you must apply for a 'Re-entry Visa'.

Apply for your re-entry visa well in advance of your proposed dates of travel. Postal applications for re-entry visas will be processed within 4 days of receipt and your re-entry visa will be returned to you by registered post.

From 1 February 2006 only payments by bank draft and postal order payable to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in respect of re-entry visas will be accepted. Cash or personal cheques will not be accepted with any application after that date. Questions in connection with re-entry visas should be addressed to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service using the contact information below.