Ireland Multi & single entry permission for those in Canada

The majority of single-entry permit applicants are people who hold a specific type of valid visa, such as a Short Stay Visa, for those who enter Ireland for short-term work, tourism, visit family, or any other reason that does not require leaving Ireland to re-enter during the duration of their visa.

Those who need a Long Stay D visa, such as those who enter Ireland for work, study, or join family, will likely travel in or out of Ireland during their visa’s validity. Nevertheless, long-stay D visa holders can obtain a valid Irish Residence Permit card (IRP), which makes them lawful residents and permits them to travel in and out of Ireland without requiring a multiple entry visa.

This permits multiple re-entry chances to Ireland.

Applicants must reach multiple requirements before obtaining a multi-entry visa. It differs per visa, for example Short Stay Business Visa holders are allowed to get a multi-entry visa that permits up to five years, so long they have a reputable, active business in Ireland and a good visa record.

Applicants with limited visa records may still qualify for a Multiple Entry Visa, although for a lesser period.

Note that Short Stay Visa holders with multiple entry permits expire once the visa expires, which is usually after 90 days.

Also, if you have a long-stay visa and have not obtained an IRP, you will need to apply for a re-entry visa if you have a single-entry visa and it expires while you are outside Ireland..

The requirements for a multiple entry visa are as follows:

•  You must have a previous visa from Ireland
• You must have entered Ireland a minimum of 3 times in the past year (12 months)
• Your time in Ireland must be for short visits
• Your purpose requires that you travel to Ireland, travel to another country, and return to Ireland
• You have to travel through Ireland to and from countries ( transit visa)
• Meet the travel history requirement, which is to ensure people are not taking advantage of multiple entrances, embassy officers will research all of your previous visas, stamps, and applicant’s travel history to ensure that you do not break any immigration rules during your previous travels.

In the case that you’re married or in a civil partnership with an Irish national and you obtain a spouse visa, the application process for a multiple entry permit is significantly easier.

Applications for multiple or single-entry visa permits are given after applicants complete their relevant visa application, as your visa will not be useful if you don’t acquire an entry permit first.

Applications are done from your home country, in this case, Canada, which are done via the AVATS system portal. When you apply for a visa, the AVATS portal will ask you to submit all the documents, which have to be submitted within a 30 days limit, depending on your visa type.

Depending on your visa type, your supporting document will range ever so slightly. In general, however, you will require your valid visa, a birth certificate, travel document,  proof of financial situation, marriage/civil partnership certificate, and employment paperwork.

As they work as a unit, you must get an approved visa first, and then you’ll get your approval to enter (and whether it is single or multiple entries). After travelling and entering Ireland, you will need to show the immigration officer your paperwork at the border or port of entry, and they will stamp your passport.

The applicable visa fees are as follows:

• Single journey visas are €60 or $81.51 Canadian Dollars
• Multi-entry visas are €100 or $135.84 Canadian Dollars
• Transit visas are €25 or $33.96 Canadian Dollars

In general, you can expect your short-stay visas to take two-three weeks to process. We always recommend that clients apply for their visa eight weeks before their intended travel date.

Other visas, including work and employment visas, can take one week to process, but other ‘D’ visas can take up to six months.