Long Stay Employment Visa (D)

Conditions you must meet

• Hold a DETE employment permit BEFORE applying for this visaTHE ORDERING TRAP, and the most consequential fact on this page. The permit is issued by a different authority -- the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment -- and the visa cannot be applied for until it exists. Applying to ISD first means a refusal for a reason no visa criterion lists.
• Eligibility for the visa begins once the permit is issuedISD stating the sequence in its own words. Recorded separately from the requirement above because this is the sentence that establishes the order, not merely the need.
• Apply from your home country or where you are a legal residentYou cannot lodge this visa from a third country you are merely visiting.
• Submit original documents, not photocopies
• Documents not in English or Irish need a full certified translation
• Letters from any business must be original, on headed paper, with a landline and a non-free email addressUnusually specific, and each clause rejects a real application: a mobile number is not accepted, Yahoo and Hotmail addresses are not accepted, and an electronic signature is not accepted. ISD gives the reason -- the organisation must be verifiable.
• Do not submit documents on USB sticks, memory cards, CD-ROMs or file-sharing linksHard copy only. ISD states such devices cannot be accessed, so a document supplied this way counts as not supplied.
• False or misleading information can bar you from an Irish visa for 5 yearsISD names three consequences, escalating: refusal, loss of the right to appeal, and a five-year block on any Irish visa.
• Medical or travel insurance — needed on ARRIVAL, not with the applicationA timing distinction worth reading twice. ISD does not want the evidence with your application, but the immigration officer at the airport or seaport can demand it, and you must be able to present it then. The visa officer may also request it before deciding.

Documents you must provide

• Current passport, valid at least 12 months after your planned arrivalNote the validity is measured from ARRIVAL, not from the application date. ISD also asks for a photocopy of every page of all previous passports and warns the application may be delayed without them.
• Two colour passport photographs, under 6 months old, signed on the backEach photo must be signed in your own handwriting and language, with your AVATS transaction number written on the back.
• Signed application letter explaining why you want to come to IrelandISD prescribes its contents, and the last one is a substantive undertaking rather than a detail: a commitment to observe your visa conditions, not become a burden on the State, and leave when your permission expires.
• The DETE employment permit itself — one of seven named typesCritical Skills, General, Intra-Company Transfer, Contract for Services, Exchange Agreement, Internship, or Sports & Cultural. Each has its own DETE eligibility rules, which are not extracted here because they belong to a different authority.
• Contract of employment, or an employer letter if you have no contractISD accepts either; the employer letter substitutes when no contract exists.
• Letter from your employer in Ireland: job, salary and any accommodation provided
• Evidence of qualifications and previous work experienceISD's examples are mostly proof of EMPLOYMENT rather than of study: three recent payslips, salary payments into your personal account, a letter from your current employer, tax statements, and professional or training certificates.
• Six months of bank statements on headed paper — internet printouts are not acceptedISD sets no figure, only 'sufficient funds to cover your costs'. Two clauses catch people out: large lodgements must be explained, and a deposit or savings account needs a separate bank letter confirming you may withdraw from it.
• Disclose every previous visa refusal, from ANY country, with the original refusal letterNot limited to Ireland and not limited to refusals: deportation, refused entry, or being required to leave any country -- including overstaying -- all require original documentation and an explanation. ISD states that non-disclosure WILL result in refusal, not may.

Steps in the process

• Apply up to 3 months before your date of travelAn upper bound, not a target: applying earlier than three months out is outside what ISD invites.
• Create the application online in AVATS, then print, sign and date the summary formThe online system is only the first half. The signed paper summary form travels with the supporting documents, and the form itself tells you where to send them.
• Send supporting documents within 30 days of creating the AVATS applicationA hard deadline that starts at the ONLINE step, not at any later point. Nothing is processed until everything arrives.

Government fees

• Visa fee: EUR 60 single entry, EUR 100 multi entryEUR 25 transit · EUR 100 multi entry · EUR 60 single entryNot refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn. Some applicants are exempt and pay nothing; the fees page lists the categories and they are not extracted. Additional local charges may apply at the office handling your documents.

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• ISD advises not to buy travel tickets before you have the decisionNot a requirement -- the authority's own advice, recorded because acting against it is expensive and applications are processed strictly in date order, so there is no way to hurry one along.