Irish Tourist Visa Application from the US

The Ireland short stay ‘C’ tourist visa allows you to enter Ireland for tourism. You can stay in Ireland for up to 90 days to;

• Visit family members and friends
• Receive medical treatment
• Sightsee Ireland’s beautiful locations
• Get married to an Irish citizen or legal resident
• Study short courses, e.g., short English courses

When you travel to Ireland on a tourist visa, you are not permitted to;

• Work in any capacity, even if it’s unpaid
• Use public-funded facilities like public hospitals.

Like every Irish visa, the tourist visa is only a pre-entry clearance and does not guarantee entry into Ireland. The immigration officer at the Irish border control determines if you meet the requirements to enter Ireland.

As a U.S. citizen, you have visa-free travel to Ireland to visit for 90 days. However, you will need to obtain permission to enter the state from an immigration officer at the Irish border control. You will need to present all required documents relevant to your travel when you arrive there. You will also need to show that you have booked a travel ticket to leave Ireland.

If you are not visa-exempt from traveling to Ireland, then you will need to apply for a tourist visa when visiting Ireland. The application process has three steps.

Step 1: Fill out and submit the online application

The first step is to visit the Irish online visa application system (AVATS) and fill in all the necessary information relating to your type of visa and reason for travel.

After submitting the form, you will be provided your application transaction number, application summary sheet, and information on the application office to send your application. The application office can be the following;

• The Dublin visa office
•  An International visa office, or
•  The Irish Embassy or Consulate in the US

Step 2: Pay the visa fees

After submitting your online application, you will be required to pay the visa fee. This fee will be determined by whether you are applying for a single journey visa or a multiple entry visas.

The fee for a single journey visa is $81, while a multiple entry visa fee is $136. In many cases, you will be granted a single entry visa, even when you apply for a multiple entry visa.

The visa fee covers the cost of processing your visa application and is non-refundable. You may be required to pay other fees based on the consular office from which you apply.

Also, note that citizens of certain nationalities are exempt from paying the visa fee.

Step 3: Submit your valid passport and required documents for processing.

After paying the visa application fee, you must submit the following documents to your application office within 30 days of creating your online application;

• The application summary sheet provided upon completion of the online application
• An application letter detailing your reason for visiting Ireland, when you intend to arrive in Ireland, where you will stay, and who will finance your travel.
• An invitation letter from a reference in Ireland. The letter must:
  • Detail why they want you to visit Ireland, when they are expecting you and how they know you.
  • Provide details of your relationship with your reference. If the reference is not an Irish citizen, you must provide evidence of their permission to remain in Ireland.
• A detailed vacation plan should indicate what you will do and where you will stay in Ireland. If you will stay in a hotel, you must show evidence of hotel bookings.
• Written confirmation from both yourself and your reference that you will adhere to your visa conditions and will not become a burden on the state and leave the state within 90 days of arriving.
• Valid passport with at least 6 months validity from your departure from Ireland and photocopies of your previous passports.
• Two passport-sized color photographs that meet Ireland visa specifications. Sign your name and write your visa application transaction number on the back of the photographs.
• Evidence that you have enough money to finance your visit to Ireland.
  • If you will finance yourself, submit a detailed bank statement of your account.
  • If your reference will finance your trip, write an estimate of their spending and what they will finance.
  • Note that there is no minimum financial requirement to come into Ireland. The visa official determines what is optimal for you based on your condition,
• Evidence showing that you are obliged to return to your home country. This could be financial, commercial, or familial.
• Evidence of all previous visa refusals. If you have been deported or refused entry into a country in the past, then you have to provide evidence of that.
• In some cases, you may be required to provide evidence of health insurance and payment of the visa application fees.

All documents submitted to the application office must be original, and all letters must be on official letter-headed paper. If any of your documents are not in English, you must obtain certified translations and then submit both the original and the translated versions.

For assistance with the application process, do not hesitate to contact total law at +1 844 290 6312. We have an array of vastly experienced immigration lawyers who will help you scale through the rigors of the Irish tourist visa application.