Visa Information

As part of the combined efforts to tackle COVID-19 and to ensure customer safety, we have taken the decision to temporarily cease accepting new visa applications. This is effective from close of business 20th of March 2020.

Certain priority/emergency cases will continue to be processed. For further information please see the website of Immigration Service Delivery. For priority/emergency visa applications, please contact us directly so that we can guide you through the application process and advise you how to submit your documentation.

Who needs a Visa

You can check if you need an Irish visa on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

Please note that Ireland is not party to the Schengen Agreement, and a Schengen visa or residence permit does not entitle you to travel to Ireland without a visa.

Unless you qualify for the short stay visa waiver programme, a valid UK visa does not entitle you to travel to Ireland without a visa.

You DO NOT NEED an entry visa for Ireland if you are a passport holder of one of these countries:

Andorra	Guyana	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Antigua and Barbuda	Honduras	Saint Lucia
Argentina	Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region)	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Australia	Hungary	Samoa
Austria	Iceland	San Marino
Bahamas	Israel	Seychelles
Barbados	Italy	Singapore
Belgium	Japan	Slovak Republic
Belize	Kiribati	Slovenia
Bolivia	Latvia	Solomon Islands
Botswana	Lesotho	South Africa
Brazil	Liechtenstein	South Korea
Brunei	Lithuania	Spain
Bulgaria	Luxembourg	Swaziland
Canada	Macau (Special Administrative Region)	Sweden
Chile	Malaysia	Switzerland
Costa Rica	Maldives	Taiwan
Croatia	Malta	Tonga
Cyprus	Mexico	Trinidad and Tobago
Czech Republic	Monaco	Tuvalu
Denmark	Nauru	United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
Dominica	Netherlands, The	United States of America
El Salvador	New Zealand	Uruguay
Estonia	Nicaragua	Vanuatu
Fiji	Norway	Vatican City
Finland	Panama
France	Paraguay
Germany	Poland
Greece	Portugal
Grenada	Romania
Guatemala

Types of Visa and Documentation

Information on types of visa and required documentation can be found on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

Visa Appeals

If your application has been refused, you will be sent a letter outlining the reasons for refusal.

If you still wish to travel to Ireland, you can appeal this decision within two months of receiving the refusal notice.

Further information on appealing visa decisions can be found on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). All appeals are handled directly by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

How to Apply

To apply for a visa, you must:

Complete the online application form
Check the “Fees” information on this page and pay the appropriate fee to the Embassy
Compile your application, which must include:
- The online summary sheet signed by you, with a valid photo
- Current passport and any previous passports (or copies of previous passports if originals unavailable)
- All required supporting documents
The online application system will automatically request you to submit your documentation to the relevant Embassy

You can also send your application by registered post or by courier. Additionally, the completed application may be dropped to the Embassy in person.

Please note that we can only process fully complete applications. The onus is on the applicant to ensure their application is complete. Any missing documentation may result in longer processing times and potential refusal.

On Arrival in Ireland

Further information on what to expect on arrival in Ireland can be found on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

Fees

Check the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) for fees in Euro.

Some applicants are not required to pay the visa processing fee, including visa-required spouses and qualifying family members of EEA citizens (including Irish nationals). To see what other applicants are fee-exempt, please check the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

Payment Details

We accept the following forms of payment:

We accept the following forms of payment: Money Order/Bank Draft/Cashier's Check in US Dollars.

All visa and courier fees must be submitted in the form of a money order/bank draft/cashier's check in US dollars payable to “The Department of Foreign Affairs – Ireland” and included with your application materials.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept cash or credit/debit cards at this time.

Information Note

The Embassy of Ireland in Washington DC accepts visa applications from Irish citizens resident in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands - Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands (US), Virgin Islands (British).

If you wish to have your visa sent to you by FedEx instead of picking it up at the Embassy please include an additional $10 for domestic overnight FedEx charges and $20 for international FedEx charges (to the islands).

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Embassy of Ireland, USA