Ireland Short Stay Family Visa Application from Canada

When applying for an Irish visa (short stay family visa), there are certain requirements a visa applicant must meet. The requirements you need to meet are:

• You must leave Ireland before your visa expires.
• You or your sponsor (family member in Ireland) must be able to support yourself financially during your visit to Ireland.
• You must have provided proof of your return to your home country or other further travel arrangements.
• You must not have breached the Common Travel Area by attempting to enter the UK via Ireland without holding a valid UK visa.
• You must be able to provide your immigration history.
• You must be of good character.
• Your application must be truthful/accurate.

If the visa officer in charge feels that you provided false or insufficient information, you may not be allowed to enter Ireland.

You must be able to provide certain documents to prove your financial ability and that you will be able to take care of yourself during your stay in Ireland without relying on the Irish government or taking up any job.

Whether you have a sponsor or you will be supporting yourself during your stay in Ireland, you must provide financial proof, which includes:

• A six-month bank statement showing your name, address, bank account number, account type, and the money paid in and out of the account.
• If your sponsor (family member) in Ireland is supporting you financially during your visit, you must provide the following documents with your visa application:
• An estimate of the costs of your stay in Ireland and the amount they will be paying for
• Evidence that your sponsor can afford these costs. This should be provided in the form of current bank statements, their three most recent payslips, if employed, their most recent P60, and a letter from their employer confirming employment, if applicable.
• If they are self-employed, they must provide a letter describing their business and documents to prove that it is an active business, such as their most recent financial accounts, tax returns, etc.

Asides from your sponsor in Ireland, if you have a third party supporting you financially, you must provide these documents in your visa application:

• A description of how and why the third party will be funding your visit
• Full details of the third party
• Proof of the relationship between you and the third party can be in the form of photographs of you both together, emails, letters, etc.
• The third party must demonstrate that they can financially support you, providing the above-described evidence.

However, you need to prove that you will return to your home country when the permission expires.

The evidence can be demonstrated through employment by providing recent payslips, a letter from your employer stating how long you have been employed, when you are due to return, and your vacation entitlement.

You can also demonstrate that through education/study by providing a letter from your school/college stating the course you are studying, how many years you have studied there, and how much time you have left there.

Family is another way to prove your return to your home country by providing a letter detailing your family ties with children, siblings, or dependants.

You can also provide documents if you rent or own a property in your country of residence, such as your original tenancy/rental agreement or property title deed.

When applying for a short stay family visa from Canada, You need to follow these application processes for a successful visa application.

Step 1: Create your visa application online via AVATS. You will need to select the following in your online application form:

Visa type: ‘Short Stay (C)

• Reason for travel: ‘Visit Family/Friend’
• Journey type: ‘Single‘ or ‘Multiple.’ (You have to choose whether you are applying for a single entry visa or a multi-entry visa)

Step 2: Pay the Visa Application Fee

After submitting the application form, you will be required to pay the visa application fee. The amount to pay depends on the office you are applying from and whether it is a single entry visa or multiple entry visa application.

Step 3: Print out the application summary sheet. Write down your visa application transaction number to track the progress of your application.

Print out, sign, and date your application summary sheets and send them to the application office as described on your application summary form. Your application will likely be the Irish Embassy in Canada.

Remember that if you are a Canadian citizen, you don’t have to go through the above; you can obtain preclearance online from Irish immigration and proceed with your travel. Ensure you take all the supporting documents with you.