Ireland Visa

Since the 1990’s, the immigration to Ireland has prospered, fuelled by strong economic conditions and immigration services which are somewhat less complicated to navigate than many other popular migration destinations. Ireland can offer excellent working conditions, low unemployment, and low crime rates in addition to excellent healthcare and education, as well as a rich cultural history and sense of national identity.

Irish visas examine the skills, experience, and qualifications of those wishing to live and work in Ireland. However, unlike making a visa application in countries such as the USA, Canada, and the UK with options such as the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), Ireland does not impose points based assessments on potential migrants.

Nonetheless, it is essential to obtain the right class of Irish visa for your specific needs and as a specialist immigration consultancy, BAIS helps you to understand the structure of Irish immigration.

• We help you to assess your eligibility and ensure that you embark upon the most appropriate route for your relocation to Ireland.
• Our team of immigration consultants provide specialist immigration lawyer advice at every stage of the application process and progress can be monitored throughout.

Temporary visas for Ireland:

Visit Visas

Applying for an Irish tourist visa to enter the Republic on a temporary basis allows foreign visa nationals to visit Ireland for a period of no longer than three months.

When the three-month period expires, applicants must return to their country of residence.

These temporary immigration services do not permit applicants to work and are issued on the basis that candidates will return to their home country.

Long Term Visas for Ireland

In Ireland, work visa applications fall into one of three categories, the Irish work permit, The Irish Green Card and the Intra Company Transfer or ICT.

Irish work permit functions as a long-term immigration route designed to allow Irish companies to employ foreign nationals to perform a specific job. Like UK work permits, the Irish model is also based upon the need for a guaranteed job offer to be in place.

In the same way, Irish Intra Company Transfers follow the same principle as UK ICT’s, designed specifically to allow a company to transfer the skills and experience of staff from a foreign branch or subsidiary for an agreed period in order to undertake a specific position or project.

In Ireland, visas of this kind are intended as a temporary measure and applicants must return to their country of residence when the grant expires.

For positions which offer sufficient remuneration, candidates may obtain an Irish Green Card, which offers the possibility of applying for permanent residence in Ireland after only two years, rather than the usual five-year minimum residency period.

However, unlike the USA Green Card, the Irish version is not in itself a grant of permanent residence. The popularisation of the term Green Card when referring to the US immigration route can make the term Irish Green Card seem misleading; although Irish Green Cards may ultimately lead to the opportunity to apply for permanent residence and in time a grant of Irish citizenship, they in fact function much like work permits.

Studying in Ireland

In Ireland, immigration for the purposes of the study is catered to specifically; an Irish student visa allows a candidate to study in Ireland for the duration of their course.Like a working permit for Ireland, study visa applications require an offer, in this case, of a place on a full-time course of study, to be pre-arranged.

Irish study visas are granted for the time it takes to complete the specified course and is intended as a temporary solution.However, with the introduction of the Graduate Programme, some applicants may be able to switch to a permit for work subject to receiving a qualifying offer of employment, and remain in Ireland beyond the expiry of the student permit.

Spouse Immigration and Dependent Immigration

Family immigration to Ireland is permitted for the spouse and/or dependent children of a primary applicant relocating to Ireland.Relatives moving to Ireland through this type of family visa class are generally granted leave to remain in Ireland which matches the duration of that awarded to the principal applicant.

In addition, these candidates may apply for a spousal work permit or dependent work permit allowing them to seek and undertake employment during their time in the country.