Unpaid Internship Visa

You will only be eligible for the Unpaid Internship visa if undertaking unpaid work experience is an essential part of your college or university studies.

In addition to this, you must meet the following conditions in order to come to Ireland on this visa. You must:

• Be a 3rd level student
• Be studying full time
• Be studying in one of the disciplines on the highly skilled occupations list
• Be studying outside of Ireland in an approved/accredited academic institution

In addition to this, as previously mentioned, the unpaid internship you wish to undertake cannot be any longer than 90 days in length.

Citizens from the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) do not need to apply for this visa as they can come and work in Ireland without having to apply for any extra permissions.

There are two parts to the Irish Unpaid Internship visa application.

The first part is submitting your application for the visa itself. This must be done no more than three months before you travel to Ireland.

You must apply online using the Irish AVATS platform for visa and preclearance applications. Follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen and ensure that you answer all of the questions as fully and honestly as possible.

As part of this application process, you will have to ensure that you apply for a Short-stay ‘C’ visa and select ‘Internship’ as the reason for travel.

You will then need to write ‘Unpaid’ in response to the question ‘Employment Permit/Atypical Working Scheme Approval Number’.

After completing the online application, you will then be instructed to move onto the second part of the process, which is submitting your supporting documentation.

You will need to submit the following supporting documents with your Unpaid Internship application:

• Two colour passport-sized photos less than six months old
• Your current passport and a full copy of all previous passports
  • Your current passport must be valid for at least six months after your intended departure date from Ireland
• A signed letter of application
• Details of where you intend to stay in Ireland
  • If you’re staying with a host, you will also need to include a letter from them that confirms accommodation details
• A recent bank statement covering the previous six months from the date of application
• Documentary evidence from your university (see FAQ for more details)
• A letter from the company or organisation giving you the internship with details of the internship, costs, and their links to your university
• Evidence of Garda vetting or a police clearance certificate from your home country (if your internship involves working with people under the age of 18 or with vulnerable people)
• Evidence of medical or travel insurance
• Evidence that you will return to your home country after the internship finishes
• Details of any previous visa refusals or immigration issues, such as deportations or overstays
• Details of any criminal convictions or pending charges

A letter of application is one of the things you’ll need to submit with your Unpaid Internship visa to help inform the Irish Immigration Service Delivery of the circumstances of your visit.

Your letter of application must include the following information:

• Your full contact details
• Your reasons for wanting to come to Ireland
• How long you intend to stay in Ireland
• Where you intend to stay in Ireland
• Details of any members of your family who are currently in Ireland, or any other EU country
• A statement confirming that the cost of trip is being paid by yourself, or details of the third party paying the costs of the trip if not (such as the host company, organisation, your university or government body)
• A personal statement confirming your commitment to observe the conditions of your visa, that you will not become a burden on the State, and that you will leave the State when your visa expires

Your letter of application must be signed.

Once you’re assembled all of your supporting documents, you may then send them off to be reviewed and assessed as part of your visa application.

To do this, you will need to put them into a strong padded envelope and post them to your visa application office. The application summary form you received when completing your online application will let you know where to send your documents.

If you’re also submitting a visa application on behalf of someone else at the same time as submitting yours, you may send them together.

To do this, you must complete the following steps:

• Place each person’s application documents into separate envelopes
• Write the name and visa application transaction number of each applicant on each envelope
• Place each envelope into a larger envelope and send it to the application office

You must remember to pay the correct postage for your package.

The Unpaid Internship visa costs the same as other standard Short-stay ‘C’ visas.

It costs €60 for a single entry visa, an €100 for a multi-entry visa.

Note that this visa fee will not be refunded if your visa application is refused or withdrawn.

Some visa applicants may be exempt from paying this application fee. Please see the FAQ for more details.

Unpaid Internship visas are generally processed within 20 days. However, this may take longer if the service is experiencing a high volume of applicants.

After you submit your online application form and post your supporting documentation, the Immigration Service Delivery will check to see that you’ve included your signed and dated application summary form, as well as all of the necessary supporting documentation.

Note that you may be contacted by the ISD and asked to provide more information or documents for your application.

They may also send your passport for official authentication, or contact other government agencies or departments to find more information about you.

You may also need to give your biometrics information as part of your application. You may need to contact your local visa application office as listed on your application summary sheet to find out if you need to do so.

Note that obtaining an Irish visa doesn’t guarantee you entry into Ireland. You will still have to satisfy the immigration officer at the Irish border that you have a valid reason to enter the country.

If you are given permission to enter by the immigration officer, they will place a landing stamp in your passport, which will indicate the reason for your visit and how long you will be allowed to stay in Ireland.