In This Section
Introduction
All passengers intending to transit through Ireland are advised to check below to see if they require a visa or transit visa for Ireland and should apply for such a visa before travelling to Ireland.
A transit visa is used to allow those nationals who are transit visa required to pass through an Irish airport or seaport to travel to another State, for example, on a connecting flight.
Who needs to apply
Transit passengers making connections at Dublin Airport should be aware of the following: If both your arrival flight and onward connecting flight are in Terminal 2 between the hours of 04:00 and 16:00 on the same day, you can use a transit visa in this case. In all other situations you will need permission to enter the State (you will need to have the appropriate Irish entry visa if you are visa required for entry to Ireland)
You should check to see if you need a Visa or transit Visa before travelling and apply if required
In all circumstances you will present to an immigration officer.
Transit Visa Required Countries
Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Minister for Justice may change the status of a country as regards visa requirements for travel to Ireland.
*Travel from Ethiopia to USA or Canada or Ethiopia from USA or Canada, via Ireland.
You do not need an Irish transit visa if you are a citizen of Ethiopia and are travelling on your national passport directly from Ethiopia via Ireland to the United States or Canada. You must have permission to travel to the United States or Canada.
You will not need a transit visa to travel directly from the United States or Canada back to Ethiopia via Ireland. You must have been legally in the United States or Canada at the time of your departure.
When do I pass through border control?
Times you would pass through border control would include, but are not limited to:
Leaving the terminal building for any purpose, including in some cases having to transfer between terminals for a connecting flight
In cases where you must collect your bags and check them in to your onward flight
Transiting overnight – all Irish airports close at night and passengers are required to pass through border control.
Before you travel please check with your Airline if you have to pass through border control.
How do I apply?
You must apply for a visa from your home country, or a country where you are a legal resident. Prepare your application 3 months before you travel.
Your application has 3 parts:
- Create a visa application online
- Pay the visa application fee
- Send your passport & other documents for processing.
Note: In some cases, you may also need to provide biometric information.
You will be given information about where to send your documents after you create your visa application.
If your application is successful, an Irish visa will be placed into your passport or travel document and returned to you. In general, you can expect a decision about 8 weeks after we receive your documents.
Important Note: 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.
Create your transit visa application online
Answer all questions in AVATS fully and honestly.
For a Transit visa, select the following options in AVATS:
Reason for travel: ‘Transit’
Journey type: ‘single’ or ‘multiple’ (as appropriate for you)
Note: Multiple entry visas are approved in limited circumstances only.
Application summary
When finished, you will be shown a web page with important summary information, including your:
Visa Application Transaction Number: Keep a note of this number. You will need it to check progress on your application or when contacting us
Application summary sheets: Print, sign and date these sheets and send them to your application office (as below), along with your passport and other documents
Application office: Send your application to the office address shown on your summary sheet. Your application office may be the
Dublin visa office, an
international visa office or an
Irish Embassy or Consulate worldwide, depending on where you apply from. (In some cases, your application office may send your application to a different office for a visa decision.)
Visa Application Fee
Payment methods and currency options may differ between offices. Contact your application office to find out how to pay. Some applicants are exempt and do not pay visa fees.
Extra charges may apply for some applications, for example consular fees. The visa fee covers the administrative cost of processing your application. It will not be refunded if your application is withdrawn or refused.
Visa decisions
Visa applications are processed in the order they are received. Processing times differ between application offices and application types and may also vary during the year, for example, at holiday periods.
In general, you can expect a decision for a transit visa about 8 weeks after your documents are received.
Note: Your application may take longer if documents are missing, need to be verified or because of personal circumstances, for example if you have a criminal conviction.
Where to check your Visa decision
Dublin visa office: If your application was sent to the Dublin visa office, new visa decisions and waiting times are published every Tuesday
All other offices: If you send your application to an international visa office, Irish Embassy or Consulate, contact that office for an update on your application.
If your visa is approved
An Irish visa will be placed into a blank page of your passport or travel document. Your passport or travel document and certain original documents (for example: marriage, birth or death certificates and other documents listed by you) will be returned to you by post or arranged for collection at an international visa office, Irish Embassy or Consulate.
If your visa is refused
You will be sent a ‘letter of refusal’ that explains why your application was not approved. Your passport or travel document and certain original documents (for example marriage, birth or death certificates and other documents listed by you) will be returned to you by post or arranged for collection at an international visa office, Irish Embassy or Consulate.
Appeal a visa decision
You can appeal a negative visa decision at no cost. To do so, you must submit an appeal within 2 months of the date on your letter of refusal.
Activities not permitted with this Visa
You are not permitted to enter Ireland for any purpose. You are solely permitted to transit through Ireland in order to reach your country of destination.
Documents Required
Application summary sheets
Visa for the country you are travelling to if applicable
Print, sign and date the application summary sheets (from AVATS) and include them with your application documents, listed below.
- Your full name and postal address
- Details of your travel plans
- Names and addresses of any members of your family who currently live in Ireland or any other EU/EEA country or Switzerland
- Sign your letter.
You may have to include proof that you have paid the visa application fee. Contact your application office to find out if you need to provide proof and what to include.
If you are exempt from the visa fee, you may have to include proof that you are exempt. Contact your application office about proof of exemption. Proof of payment or exemption may differ between offices. Extra charges may also apply for some applications, for example consular fees.
- Your current passport
- A photocopy of each page from all previous passports you have (where available).
Your current passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the date you plan to leave Ireland. Your application will be delayed if you do not provide copies of all previous passports you have.
Include a letter that describes your travel plan to-or-from Ireland if you intend to:
- Travel to Ireland directly from a country that is not your home country, or a country where you are a legal resident
- Or travel from Ireland directly to a different country
- The letter must state if you need visas for those countries (or not).
If relevant, apply for those countries’ visas before you apply for an Irish visa. Your application for an Irish visa may be refused if your passport does not contain the expected visas.
If you do not get the expected visas before you apply for an Irish visa, explain why in your letter. The visa officer will include those reasons when reviewing your application.
If you are not a citizen of the country you are applying from you must submit proof that you have permission to be in that country, for example a photocopy of your residence card. You must also show you have at least 3 months’ permission to remain in that country after the date you plan to leave Ireland.
Include 2 passport-sized colour photographs of the visa applicant. On the back of each photo:
- Sign your name (in your native script and language)
- Write your Visa Application Transaction Number from AVATS.
Each photograph must meet all the following rules for visa photographs.
Travel itinerary and airline bookings/tickets showing departure dates and destinations.
If you were ever refused a visa by any country, type or write a description about it. You must also include the original letter sent to you by the authorities that refused your application.
Important: Your application for an Irish visa will be refused if you do not include information about past visa refusals.
If applying for a transit visa you must have a visa for the country you are travelling to (if applicable) in your passport.
Guidance on documentation
If you do not submit the required documentation your application may be refused on the basis of insufficient documentation. It is your responsibility to satisfy the Visa Officer that your visa should be granted for the purpose you have indicated.
The submission of any or all of these documents does not guarantee that your application will be successful.
We do not accept photocopies (except where stated).
You must provide a full and certified translation into the English or Irish language of any documents not in English or Irish. Send us both the original documents and the certified translations.
Read a longer description about how to make a certified translation of a document.
State issued official documents include, for example, Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, and Divorce Certificates.
State issued official documents that were issued by a State outside 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. Translations done in the EEA or Switzerland do not need to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State issued official documents 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.
Letters from companies, universities, schools, colleges and other organisations, must be on official headed paper so they can be verified, and show the organisation’s:
- Full name
- Full postal address
- Telephone number (fixed line – not mobile or cell phone)
- Website address
- Email address (Yahoo and Hotmail email addresses are not accepted)
- A contact person’s name and title or position.
“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.”
Important Note: The Visa Officer considers each application on its merits and may request additional information or documentation.
Return of documents
We will return original documents such as marriage, birth and death certificates to you after your application is processed.
If there are other documents you want returned, type or write a list of the documents you want and:
Note: You must include the original documents. Do not send photocopies only.
Your application may be refused if you do not submit all documents. Even if you submit everything required, there is no guarantee that a visa will be granted.
Send your documents
When you are satisfied that you have prepared your application documents, put them into a strong padded envelope and submit them to your application office. Details of how to submit your documents will be provided in your application summary sheet. This may be in person or by post. If you are making a visa application for yourself and another person, you may send them together.
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.
If submitting by post, be sure to pay the correct postage for large packages.
Applications for young people (aged under 18)
A transit visa application for a young person (aged under 18) should be made by their parent or legal guardian. The process follows the same steps described above with some extra conditions (as below) to protect the young person’s safety.
