Marriage visa

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 “Convention on the issue of multilingual extracts from civil status records”, 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.

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.