Minister of Religion

Ministers of Religion may be given permission to enter and remain in Ireland under certain conditions. It is necessary to apply for preclearance if you are a non-visa required national, or for a visa if you are a visa required national. EU/EEA/UK & Swiss nationals do not need to make any application. Please read the conditions carefully.

The immigration permission and application system described on this page is based on the revised Immigration policy for Ministers of Religion published 29 November, 2022 (updated June 2023). The Department of Justice reserves the right to amend or suspend this policy at any time. The information below is intended as a guide only, the policy document outlines all of the relevant criteria for eligibility for this programme.

This Scheme applies to both visa required and non-visa required nationals. You must apply before you travel to Ireland. Do not apply under this Scheme if your intended stay is for less than 3 months.

You can check if you are visa required or non-visa required (preclearance required), using our travelpath. To apply under this scheme, you must, before you travel to Ireland, apply for a visa or preclearance.

You can apply for a long stay (D) visa or preclearance up to 3 months before your date of travel to Ireland. Please note that where a person is applying under a dependent/ join family category, applications may take longer to process.

You must apply from your home country or a country where you are a legal resident. Proof of residence outside the State may be requested, and the applicant (and permitted family members under the Scheme) must remain outside the State while their application is being processed.

A preclearance letter and visa allows you to travel to Ireland only for a specific purpose. They do 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 preclearance letter /long stay visa:

Fill in the online application form. This will generate an application summary form and declaration at the end which must be printed, signed and dated. When you are filling in your information on the online application form:

You must organise your supporting documents and pay the visa/preclearance application fee. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee.

Visa Fee
First you must read the information on visa fees/preclearance fees. Some applicants do not have to pay the application fee. Please include, with your application, proof that the application fee has been paid – for example a copy of the transfer receipt from your bank.

The fees for visas are:

The visa fee is a non-refundable administration fee which covers the cost of processing your application. This fee cannot be refunded even if your application is refused or withdrawn.

You may be required to pay additional charges for example relating to the submission of your documents. The website of the Office to which you must submit your documents will have details about additional charges and any local payment options. Details of the relevant office will be available to you once you complete the online application.

Preclearance Fee
A non-refundable fee of €60 applies to preclearance and must be paid in full at the time of the Preclearance application. The Preclearance fee is a non-refundable administration fee which covers the cost of processing your application. This fee cannot be refunded even if your application is refused or withdrawn.

You may be required to pay additional charges for example relating to the submission of your documents. The website of the Office to which you must submit your documents will have details about additional charges and any local payment options. Details of the relevant office will be available to you once you complete the online application.

To complete the process, you must submit your passport & supporting documents for processing. Where you submit your application depends on where you are living. The summary application form will direct you to the relevant office. It is very important that you submit your documents and fee to the correct office within 30 days of completing the online application form.

Your spouse/civil partner and children apply in a similar way to you. You must fill in your application form first, and take note of the application number. Your family members must then fill in their application forms using the instructions below:

Fill in the online application form. This will generate an application summary form and declaration at the end which must be printed, signed and dated. When they are filling in their information on the online application form:

You must all then organise your supporting documents and pay the visa/preclearance application fee for each person. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee.

To complete the process, you must all submit your passports and supporting documents for processing. Where you submit your application depends on where you are living. The summary application form will direct you to the relevant office. It is very important that you all submit your documents and fee to the correct office within 30 days of completing the online application form.

Please note: If you are applying for dependents, and you have visa required and non-visa required applicants in your family group, please contact the preclearance unit at preclearance@justice.ie with your details (including all transaction numbers, and nationalities) before you pay the application fee and submit your documents.

Before you gather your supporting documents you must read the important information on documents available below. This will give you guidelines on supporting documents, including information on translations and rules.

If you find that you cannot submit a document requested below, you should provide an explanation as to why you cannot provide it, and any other documents for consideration by the visa officer.

“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/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/apostilled as genuine, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the translation occurs. Send us both the original documents and the certified translations. 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/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 “Convention on the issue of multilingual extracts from civil status records“, as proof of a marriage within the EEA or Switzerland. Send us both the original documents and the certified translations.”

First they must read the information on visa fees/ preclearance fees. Some applicants do not pay the application fee. Please include proof that the application fee has been paid for all dependents where applicable (for example a copy of the transfer receipt from your bank).

They must provide evidence of medical insurance that satisfies the criteria outlined below:

They must be covered by private medical insurance, from a company authorised by the Health Insurance Authority for the duration of their time in the State. Your sponsor may include them in their group insurance scheme.

Your spouse/civil partner must submit a Police Clearance Certificate (not more than 6 months old, to also include a criminal records check) from their country of current residence and any country they have resided in, in the 5 years prior to the application.

This must be issued by the police force of that country and must include a full check of that country’s national and local records. Criminal record checks conducted by private companies will not be accepted.

Where you are applying as the spouse/civil partner of a Minister of Religion, you must provide your marriage/civil partnership certificate.

If your application is approved, once you receive your visa/preclearance letter, please check that all details on the visa/preclearance letter are correct. If you have any questions in relation to the requirements and/or limitations of the visa sticker/preclearance letter please contact the visa/preclearance office which processed your application.

The dates of validity shown on the visa sticker/preclearance letter indicate the dates between which you can travel to Ireland. The visa/preclearance letter must be presented to an immigration officer at a port of entry between those dates. After the end date, the visa/preclearance letter is no longer valid and you will be required to apply for another visa/preclearance.

You should carry (for example) your letter of invitation/accommodation booking/school letter of acceptance and/or other relevant documents, including medical insurance in your carry-on bag for presentation to an immigration officer at the port of entry.

The visa/preclearance letter does not allow you to enter Ireland. It does not allow you to live in Ireland. When you arrive at a port in Ireland an immigration officer can grant or deny you permission to enter Ireland and you can find out more information about what happens at the port of entry.

If you were granted a long stay visa or you were granted a preclearance letter of approval, and are staying in Ireland for longer than 90 days you will be required to register with the immigration authorities. The Immigration Officer will give you a date by which you will have to register. If you do not register by that date, you will be required to leave Ireland.

A person wishing to undertake any activity in Ireland other than that for which his/her visa/preclearance letter was granted must leave the State and apply for a new visa/preclearance. For example, if you come to Ireland for a holiday you cannot then take up employment in Ireland. To do so you must first leave the State.

An applicant may not return to Ireland while awaiting a decision on his/her new application and any previous visa/preclearance letter issued will be cancelled while the new application is being considered.

A person who remains in the State longer than the permitted period as granted by the immigration officer at the airport or other port of entry may become liable for prosecution and/or subject to deportation.

We will notify you by letter if your application is refused. This letter will outline the reasons why your application was refused. The refusal letter will also tell you if you are permitted to appeal the decision. In some cases you may not be permitted to appeal (for example if you provide false or misleading information in your application). You may also be prevented from making another Irish visa/preclearance application for up to five years. If you receive a refusal letter, it will state clearly in your letter if you have a right of appeal or not.

The appeal process is free of charge. You can request an appeal of this decision by responding to the refusal reasons with extra supporting documents if required. This appeal must be received by us within 8 weeks of the date of the refusal letter. An appeal must be submitted in writing, fully addressing all of the reasons for the refusal. Appeals received by email or fax will not be processed.

Type or write a ‘letter of appeal’ that states that you wish to appeal a visa/preclearance decision. The letter must include your:

In the letter explain in detail why you believe the decision should be changed. When doing so you should refer to the reasons the application was refused (as stated in the letter of refusal). Add any new information you believe is important. Sign and date the letter and include it with your appeal.

Include any other documents you believe are important for your appeal. Any documents you submit must follow the rules outlined below, otherwise they cannot be considered. You should expect verification checks to be made in respect of the information and documents you supply.

Your letter of refusal will tell you if you need to include your original passport with your appeal. Do not include your passport unless instructed to do so in the letter of refusal. Appeal a visa/preclearance decision for someone else, for example your child, another applicant.

Follow these steps to appeal a decision for your child or if you have been authorised to appeal on behalf of someone else. There are no restrictions on the number of visa/preclearance applicants you can appeal for. If you are appealing for 2 or more people, you must include a separate ‘letter of authorisation’ and ‘letter of appeal’ for each person (as described below).

To appeal a visa/preclearance decision on behalf of someone else, ask them to type or write a ‘letter of authorisation’ that contains the information below (You do not need a letter of authorisation to appeal for your child if they are aged under 18).

The letter must state that the original visa/preclearance applicant is authorising you to act on their behalf for all matters and correspondence relating to the appeal of their visa/preclearance decision. The letter must include the original visa/preclearance applicant’s:

In the letter explain in detail why you believe the decision should be changed. When doing so you should refer to the reasons the application was refused (as stated in the letter of refusal). Add any new information you believe is important. Sign and date the letter and include it with the appeal.

Include any other documents you believe are important for the appeal. Any documents you submit must follow the rules for documents for all visa/Preclearance applications, otherwise they cannot be considered.

You (i.e. the authorised person or parent) must include a colour photocopy of the photograph page of your passport or national identity card with the appeal. In some cases you may need to include the visa/preclearance applicant’s original passport with the appeal. The letter of refusal will tell you if you need to include the passport. Do not include the passport unless instructed to do so in the letter of refusal.

You must submit appeals by post only. We cannot accept faxes or emails. Be sure to pay the correct postage for large packages.

We process visa/preclearance appeals in the order we receive them. We make every effort to process appeals as soon as possible and we advise the applicant of the outcome when the decision is made. Processing times can differ between offices and may also vary during the year, for example during peak periods.

We may take more time processing the appeal if we need to do a detailed assessment of family rights under the Constitution of Ireland or the European Convention on Human Rights.

If your appeal is being processed in the Dublin Visa/Preclearance Office, the following page, which we update each Tuesday, can be visited to keep up to date for current processing times for appeals. Check current appeal waiting times.

We will send a notification to you stating that the original visa decision has been reversed. The notification will also explain what to do next to get your visa. Your documents will then be returned to you by post or arranged for collection, as explained in ‘How do I get my passport and documents back?‘ in the frequently asked questions below.

We will send you another ‘letter of refusal’ stating that the original visa decision remains in place and that your appeal has been refused. Your documents will then be returned to you by post or arranged for collection, as explained in ‘How do I get my passport and documents back?‘ in the frequently asked questions below.

If your appeal is successful, you will be issued with a Preclearance Letter of Approval. Your Preclearance letter is an important document and should be treated as such.

The preclearance letter is valid for 6 months. If you do not use it within this validity period (to arrive at border control), you must restart the application process and submit a new application.

Where the decision to refuse is upheld at appeal, you will receive a letter or email outlining the reasons for the refusal