Visas for people visiting Ireland on business

If you plan to visit Ireland, you should check if you need a visa.

This page has information on how to apply for a short-stay business visa. You should apply for a business visa if you plan to come to Ireland for up to 90 days to:

• Go to meetings
• Negotiate or sign contracts
• Work for up to 14 days

If you plan to work for up to 14 days, your work must begin and end within the one 14-day period. If you want to work for more than 14 days or more than 14 days will pass between your first and last days of work, you should apply for the Atypical Working Scheme.

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA, Switzerland or UK and you do not need a visa to come to Ireland, you still need to have documents with you to show the reason for your visit. You must present yourself at immigration when you enter Ireland.

Having a visa does not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter Ireland.

You apply for a visa online. You complete a separate application for each person travelling, including children. After you have submitted the visa form, you have 30 days to send the supporting documents. It’s a good idea to prepare your documents before completing the form.

You pay a fee of €60 for each application. A multiple entry visa costs €100.

When you have submitted the form, you will get a summary of your application. This includes:

• Your visa application transaction number
• Your application summary sheet
• Details of the application office where you should send your documents

You send the signed summary sheet with your documents.

You must send documents in support of your application. This section has information on the main documents you need to send. You can get more information about documentation on the Irish Immigration Delivery website.

You must send original documents (not photocopies). If your documents are not in English, you must send a certified translation and the original document.

Birth, marriage and death certificates will be returned to you. If you want other pages returned to you, you should include a note with your application that says this. Send a photocopy (in addition to the original) of the page you want returned to you.

If your visa is approved, you must get travel insurance before you travel to Ireland.

Letter of application

You must write a letter that explains why you want to come to Ireland. You should give the details of your trip, including the dates you plan to be here, where you will stay and how you will pay for things while you are here.

You should also include the names and addresses of any of your family who live in Ireland or another country in the EEA or Switzerland, even if you do not plan to visit them.

You must say in your letter that you will:

• Obey the conditions of your visa in full
• Leave Ireland before your visa expires
• Not rely on public services or become a burden on the State

Letter of invitation

You should send a letter of invitation the business or company that will host you. The letter should have information about the dates you are visiting them and why they are inviting you to Ireland.

They should evidence of an existing relationship between you and your host. This could be copies of emails for example. Your host should also state what (if anything) they will contribute to the cost of your visit.

If you are visiting more than one host, you need a letter of invitation from each host.

Information about where you will stay

You must include the details of where you will stay. You should include printouts of your booking confirmations. If you are staying with your host, you should include a letter from the host with their name, address, dates you will stay with them and information about how much they will contribute to the cost of your visit. You should also include proof of your host’s address.

Passport

You must show that you have the money you need for your trip. If someone else is paying for your visit (for example your host), you should send a letter from them with details of what they will pay for.

Proof of finances

You must show that you have the money you need for your trip. If someone else is paying for your visit (for example a family member), you should send documents to show that they can afford to pay for you.

You don’t need to have a particular or set amount of money to qualify for a short-stay visa.

Passport photos

Include 2 passport photos. You must sign your name and put your visa application transaction number on the back of each photo.

Show that you must return home

You must show that you have strong ties to your home country and that you must return home. This could be family responsibilities, work, education or something else. You should send proof of these responsibilities. For example, if you are working you should send a letter from your employer and recent payslips.

You can read more details of the documents you need on the Immigration Service Delivery website.

If you sent your application to Dublin, you can check visa decisions and waiting times. If you sent your application somewhere else, you can contact the embassy or consulate you sent your documents to for updates on your application. Applications take around 8 weeks, but may take longer.

If your visa application is successful, the visa office will post your passport back to you with the visa attached. The visa will be valid for a particular period. Having a visa does not guarantee that you will be allowed to enter Ireland.

Refusals

You will get a letter that says why your visa application was refused. You can appeal this decision within 2 months.

You are expected to leave the State on or before the date which has been stamped on your passport by the Immigration Officer when you entered.

You can only extend your visa if there is an unexpected change in your circumstances since you entered Ireland.

You cannot get an extension if:

• There is no change in circumstances from the time you entered Ireland
• There is no change in circumstances from the time you were granted a travel visa
• You are in Ireland to seek medical attention
• You are seeking a permission to marry in Ireland
• You are in Ireland to provide childcare facilities
• You wish to live in Ireland full time

Some people do not have to pay the visa fee.

A visa costs:

Single-journey visa: €60

Multiple-journey visa: €100

If you require a visa in order to visit Ireland, your application must be made online.

Irish embassies and consulates