We help South Africans apply for Irish visas. Since July 2024, South African passport holders need a visa for Ireland, and it is separate from both Schengen and UK visas.
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Whether you are visiting family, taking a holiday or travelling for business, we take the forms, the evidence and the follow-up off your hands. An Irish visa application is still substantially a paper process, so the quality of the file matters.
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We confirm whether you need a Short Stay 'C' visa or a Long Stay 'D' route before anything is paid for.
We check every document against the requirements and against each other, from dates and amounts to headed paper and apostilles, to reduce the risk of refusal.
We complete the AVATS application with you and submit your documents through VFS Global rather than to the Embassy.
We follow your application until the decision arrives and your passport is back with you.
Prestige Solutions prepares and lodges your application; Irish immigration decides the outcome and the processing time.
Tell us about your trip. We confirm the visa type and send you a document list built for your situation.
We complete the AVATS application with you, check your documents and submit them through VFS Global.
Your application is decided by the Dublin visa office. We track it and tell you the outcome.
Not sure which visa you need? Tell us about your trip and we will confirm the route.
Check your routeMost visitors need a Short Stay 'C' visa, for up to 90 days. Working, studying for longer than 90 days or joining family in Ireland use Long Stay 'D' routes. Every traveller, children included, needs their own application.
When you enquire, we send you a document list built for your situation.
We confirm each of these upfront, so you know the full cost before we start.
Irish immigration's headline guidance is a decision within approximately 8 weeks, but its published Dublin processing dates show that visit visa queues have run much longer. Irish immigration determines the processing time, and says processing speed is largely dictated by the quality of the documentation.
Ireland, the UK and the Schengen area each need their own visa. We confirm what your trip needs before you pay for anything.
Unexplained funds, unproven ties, undeclared refusals and missed formalities are common reasons Irish applications are refused. We check for them before submission.
We handle visa applications for 75+ destinations, so a trip that also takes in the UK or Europe stays with one team.
We tell you at the start what the published queue means for your travel date.
Practical answers to what South Africans ask us about visiting Ireland.
No. Ireland is not party to the Schengen Agreement, and the Embassy of Ireland states that a Schengen visa or residence permit does not entitle you to travel to Ireland without a visa. The reverse holds too, so a trip covering Dublin and mainland Europe needs two visas. Our Schengen visa page covers the European leg.
No. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, and an Irish visa carries no UK permission. There are no immigration checks on the land border, but anyone crossing it must still enter in line with UK immigration rules. If your trip includes Belfast, you need a UK visa as well.
Up to 90 days. The period you may actually stay is set by the immigration officer at the border and shown on your landing stamp.
Irish immigration's guidance is approximately 8 weeks, but published queues for visit visas have run much longer. Processing times vary, so apply as soon as your plans are firm.
Up to three months before you travel. Irish immigration recommends applying that early, and advises against buying tickets until your visa is issued.
Not for an ordinary short stay visit. Some longer stay and join family routes do require one, and the requirement differs by route. Our police clearance service handles the SAPS certificate from fingerprints to delivery.
The Irish visa application fee, any VFS Global service charges that apply, and our service fee. We confirm each of them upfront, before we start.
You receive a letter setting out the reasons. Certain short stay refusals can no longer be appealed, so the usual remedy is a new application that answers those reasons directly. We can help you prepare it, starting with a careful reading of the refusal letter.
Tell us when you plan to travel and why. We will confirm the visa you need, send you a document list built for your situation and confirm the full cost upfront.
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