In This Section
Introduction
If you wish to come to Ireland in order to get married, please read below for further information on when and how to apply and what documents are required.
When can you apply?
You can apply for a marriage visa after you and your prospective spouse have received an acknowledgement from the Registrar confirming the date of receipt of notification of your intention to marry.
You can apply for a marriage visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to Ireland. If you are visiting another state prior to travelling to Ireland, you must have the relevant visa for that state in your passport before applying for an Irish visa.
How to apply
You must apply online for a visa.
When you have completed the online application process, you must follow the instructions on the summary application form that is created by the online system. The summary form will contain information on where you are to submit your supporting documentation.
The summary form which you must print, sign and date, must be submitted with your supporting documentation. You may be required to provide your biometric information as part of the application process.
Important: A visa allows you to travel to Ireland only. It does not give you permission to enter the country or to stay here. An immigration officer at border control can refuse you entry even if you have a visa.
Fees
Please refer to the table of visa fees and to read more about exemptions to fee payment. You may be required to pay additional charges relating to the submission of your documents.
You may be able to pay the fee in local currency. The website of your local Visa Office, Embassy or Consulate will have details about additional charges and local payment options.
How long will it take?
Applications are processed in date order. You are advised not to purchase travel tickets before you know the outcome of your visa application. Processing times can vary between countries. They can also vary during high volume periods during the year. However, you can generally expect a decision within 8 weeks from the date on which your application is lodged at the Visa Office, Embassy or Consulate.
Your application may take longer if for example you have not submitted the necessary supporting documentation, your supporting documentation needs to be verified or because of your personal circumstances (for example, if you have a criminal conviction).
You can check the processing times for the Visa Office, Embassy or Consulate that is handling your application on their website. If your application is being processed by the Visa Office, Immigration Delivery Service, Department of Justice, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin you can check the date of the applications currently being processed on the new visa decisions and waiting times page.
Activities not permitted with this Visa
You are not permitted to:
Undertake any form of employment, paid or otherwise
Guide to supporting documentation
Do not include false or misleading information or documents in your application. If you do, your application may be refused. In some circumstances, you may not be allowed to appeal the visa decision and may be prevented from applying for an Irish visa for up to 5 years.
The documents below are important because they provide information about your personal circumstances in the country from which you are applying. It is your responsibility to satisfy the Visa Officer that a visa should be granted for the purpose sought. The submission of any or all of these documents does not guarantee that your application will be successful.
Original documents must be provided.
All letters submitted should be on official company headed paper and give full contact details so that they can be verified. These must include a full postal address, name of contact, position in company or college, telephone number (landline), website, and official email address (email addresses such as Yahoo or Hotmail are not accepted).
Do not submit documentation on USB sticks, memory cards, CD ROMs as documents on these devices cannot be accessed. You should also not submit documentation on file sharing platforms such as Drop Box, Sharefile. Documents in hardcopy format only will be accepted.
If you submit a document that is not in English or Irish, it must be accompanied by a full translation. Each translated document must contain:
Confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document
The date of the translation
The translatorās full name and signature, and
The translatorās contact details.
Send us both the original documents and the certified translations.
Any State issued official documents, such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, Divorce Certificates that were issued by a State outside of the EEA or Switzerland, must be attested or apostilled as genuine by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the State that issued the document, in order that it can be accepted as evidence for Irish visa purposes. Such documents are required to be translated into English or Irish, if necessary.
Translations done outside the EEA or Switzerland must also be attested or apostilled as genuine, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the translation occurs. Translations done in the EEA or Switzerland do not need to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Any State issued official documents, such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, Divorce Certificates that were issued by a State within the EEA or Switzerland do not require to be attested as genuine from Member States.
A translation of these documents is not required where a multilingual standard form (MSF) is also provided. Such MSF forms are available from Member States on request. If an MSF is not provided by you then those documents are required to be translated into English or Irish, if necessary in order that it can be accepted as evidence for Irish visa purposes.
Translations done outside the EEA or Switzerland must also be attested or apostilled as genuine, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the translation occurs. Translations done in the EEA or Switzerland do not need to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We will also accept the Extract of a European marriage certificate, issued in accordance with the āConvention on the issue of multilingual extracts from civil status recordsā, as proof of a marriage within the EEA or Switzerland.
All letters submitted from a business, company or other organisation should be on official headed paper and give full contact details so that they can be verified. These must include a full postal address, name of contact, position in the organisation, telephone number (landline), website, and an official email address (email addresses such as Yahoo or Hotmail are not accepted).
The Visa Officer considers each application on its merits and may request additional information or documentation.
Documents required
Application summary sheets
Evidence of your intention to marry
Evidence of your relationship history
Obligations to return home
Medical or Travel insurance
Print, sign and date the application summary sheets (from AVATS). Your signed and dated summary application form and the appropriate fee (where applicable) must be accompanied by the supporting documentation set out below. If you do not submit the required documentation your application may be refused on the basis of insufficient documentation.
Your name and visa application reference number must be printed clearly on the back. More information on photograph requirements here photographs.
- Your current passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your intended date of departure from Ireland
- If you are not a national of the country where you are applying from, you must submit evidence of your permission to be in that country, for example, a residence card
- You must also have at least 3 months permission to be in that country after your intended date of departure from Ireland.
- Your full contact details
- Your reason for wanting to come to Ireland
- How long you intend to stay in Ireland
- Giving details of any members of your family who are currently in Ireland, or any other EU Member State
- Providing details of where you intend to stay while you are in Ireland
- Stating that the cost of trip is being paid for by yourself, or where that is not the case, details of the third party who is funding the costs of the trip, and
- An undertaking that you will observe the conditions of your visa, that you will not become a burden on the State, and that you will leave the State on the expiry of your permission to remain.
Details of your accommodation, for example:
- If you are staying with a host, accommodation details with a supporting letter from the occupant confirming that you are able to stay with them and documentary evidence of your hostās proof of address, for example, a utility bill, hotel, guesthouse or hostel booking confirmation (may be by email).
- You must provide an up-to-date bank statement, showing what money has been paid into and out of the account over the last six months. You must submit this whether or not you are covering the costs of the visit yourself
- Bank statements must be on headed paper – internet printouts will not be accepted
- Your name, address, account number and account type must be visible on the statement. Any large lodgements must be explained
- If you are sending a bank statement from a deposit/savings account, you must also include a letter from your bank confirming that you are allowed to withdraw money from that account
- If a third party is covering your costs, you must show how you are linked/known to this person
- There is no set amount of funds that will result in the approval or refusal of an application. The Visa Officer will decide whether you have enough funds based on your individual circumstances.
You must provide one of the following:
- Acknowledgement from the Registrar confirming the date of receipt of notification of intention to marry or enter into a civil partnership
- Marriage Registration Form (MRF).
You must submit evidence of your relationship with your prospective spouse, for example, evidence of your prospective spouse having travelled to your country of residence on a number of occasions to visit you, evidence of correspondence and so on.
Please note that for immigration purposes it is not sufficient for a relationship to have developed solely over the internet, telephone or sms. A relationship must include a number face to face meetings (excluding webcam) between the parties. You must satisfy the Visa Officer that the relationship is genuine.
If either you or your prospective spouse were married or in a civil partnership previously you must submit evidence of this:
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate
- Divorce or dissolution of civil partnership certificate.
As you are applying for a short stay visa for Ireland (which permits visits of less than 90 days), it is important that you provide evidence that you have strong family, social or economic ties to your country of residence. This is necessary in order to satisfy the Visa Officer that you will leave Ireland on, or before, your intended date of departure from Ireland.
It is your responsibility to provide this evidence. All of the information that you provide must be in the form of documentary evidence which can be verified by the Visa Officer. Suggestions on how to show evidence your obligations to return.
Work
If you are employed, you must provide your 3 most recent payslips and a letter from your employer including:
- How long you have been employed there
- The dates you will be absent from your employment
- The date you will be returning to work in that employment.
Education or study
If you are a student, you must provide a letter from your college stating:
- The course you are studying
- How many years you have been a student there
- How many years or terms you have left at that college, and that you will be returning there following your visit to Ireland.
Family
Details of any family members living in your country of residence – if you have any dependent children and your children are remaining at home, you should submit birth certificates for the children.
Property
Evidence of any property you own or rent
- Title deed or tenancy agreement.
Evidence of medical or travel insurance does not need to be provided with your application. However, the Visa Officer may request it before they make a decision on your application.
If your visa is approved, you must have evidence of medical or travel insurance when you arrive at the port of entry (airport or seaport) and must present it to the Immigration Officer on request.
For all visa or preclearance applications, if you have been refused a visa or preclearance in the past for any country, you must provide details to us. The original letter issued to you by the authorities of that country must be provided with your application. Not disclosing any previous visa refusals will result in your application being refused.
In addition if you have:
- Been deported from any country
- Been refused entry to any country
- Been otherwise required to leave any country (including overstaying in any country).
You must provide original documentation issued by the authorities of that country with your application and a full explanation for consideration.
Return of documents
All documents accompanying your application must be originals. You should keep copies of all the documents that you provide.
Original documents such as marriage/birth/death certificates will be returned to you. However, other documents such as bank statements or letters of invitation will not be returned. If there are particular documents that you wish to have returned, please provide a list of these documents with the application.
