Visa/Passport

The following information is for Irish Citizens only. If you do not hold a Irish passport or id card, then you must check with the appropriate embassy to see if you require a visa.

You will require a valid, full ten year passport or id card for your holiday depending where you are traveling to. Please check with www.dfa.ie for any validity requirements beyond the return date of your holiday. Please keep your passport in your hand luggage and not in your suitcase.

It is advisable to take a photocopy of your passport with you on holiday but do not keep it with your passport.

Please check before you travel

  • You have a valid 10-year passport or valid id card which is essential when you are traveling abroad.
  • Please ensure your passport is valid for at least six months after your scheduled return to the UK. If it is not, you need to contact your nearest passport office immediately in order to obtain an extension or new passport.
  • Please ensure the name on your travel documents and tickets exactly matches your name on your passport. If it does not, please call us straight away as airlines will refuse boarding if the two documents do not match.
  • Please ensure you have completed the ‘next of kin’ section in your passport.
  • Always keep a separate note of your passport number, place and date of issue, or preferably a photocopy of the back pages, packed separately from your passport. It is also recommended that you leave a copy with a friend in the UK and carry with you another form of identification (such as a driving licence). All this will be useful if your passport is lost or stolen.
  • When traveling, always keep your passport in a zipped pocket in your hand luggage.
  • Visas: countries such as Vietnam, Russia, Turkey (on arrival), Cambodia (on arrival)Jordan and India require visas for Irish passport holders. Please see the relevant country’s embassy website for details. You will need to have an empty page in your passport for each visa. Visa costs are not included in our prices and may change without notice. Obtaining a visa is your responsibility, please do not leave your application until the last minute.

Irish passport enquiries

For further details regarding passports and the requirements for travelling abroad please call 08705 210 410 or visit http://www.dfa.ie

Botswana entry requirements

Irish passport holders do not currently require a visa to enter Botswana but must have at least three empty pages in their passport and at least a six-month validity from date of travel.

Cambodia entry requirements

Please ensure you have at least two empty pages in your passport and that it is valid for at least six months after your return date. Available on arrival in Phnom Penh upon completion of a simple application form and payment of $20 per person. You will also need two passport-sized photos and if you arrive without photos, there is an extra charge of around $2 per person. Visas may also be arranged and paid for online prior to departure: please see http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh for details. Please note all visa costs are non-refundable and subject to change without notice. Local departure taxes: currently $25 per person for Cambodia, payable locally.

India entry requirements

All holders of Irish Passports will require a visa to travel to India. A Single entry tourist visa costs €50 per person and can be applied for in person or by post. The duration of the visa issued is generally three months and the visa is valid from the date of issue. We therefore recommend applying for the visa approximately two months before departure, to ensure it covers the full duration of your stay in India.

Personal applications: to apply for an Indian visa please visit http://indianembassy.ie/app/sites/indian_embassy/visa-services.htm where you can apply download a postal application form or obtain address and opening times for a personal application.

Postal applications: print off the completed application form, payment confirmation and submit by post. You must submit your passport along with a self addressed stamped envelope and 2 "2x2" photos to the address below.

Consular Wing

Embassy of India

6 Leeson Park

Dublin 6

Please note passports are required to be valid for a minimum of 190 days at the time of application for the visa and not at the time of travel/return from India. You can travel as long as both the passport and the visa are valid.

The majority of the questions will be personal to you; however, we have listed below some frequently asked questions concerning the completing of the application form. Everything on the form marked with a red asterix is a mandatory field.

Processing Times

Processing times vary from application to application at the sole discretion of the High Commission of India, and some applications may take longer than others to get processed. Personal applications can take approx 10 working days to process. Postal applications can take another 5 working days.

South Africa entry requirements

Irish passport holders do not currently require a visa. However, please ensure that your passport is valid for at least thirty days after the intended return date and there are at least two empty pages.

Turkey entry requirements

There is a €15 per person Turkish visa fee for all UK passport holders, available on arrival at Istanbul airport, payable in cash sterling. Please also ensure that your passport is valid for at least six months on entry into Turkey and you have at least three months validity from the date you are exiting Turkey.

USA entry requirements

Irish passport holders do not require a visa under the USA Visa Waiver Programme. Please ensure your passport is machine-readable (i.e. type written and not hand written on your personal details page) and is valid for your stay in the USA.

Please note Irish passport holders qualifying for the Visa Waiver programme must now apply online for authorisation to enter the USA, for which there is now an administration fee of $14 per person. This may only be submitted online by logging on to:  https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov and registering at least 72 hours prior to travel. It is now a requirement that all passengers apply in this way. Without authorisation prior to travel, admission may be denied at a US port of entry. For the latest information, please visit the ESTA website, as detailed.

If you are not a Irish national please visit http://www.dublin.usembassy.gov.

Vietnam entry requirements

All Irish passport holders require visas for Vietnam. Single-entry tourist visas can be applied for by post or in person up to six months before travel from the Embassy of Vietnam, 12 Victoria Road, London W8 5RD, tel. +44207 9371912 (visa section 9.30am-12.30pm Mon-Fri). For postal applications, please send your passport, a passport-sized photo, a completed visa form, a self-addressed envelope, and a postal order payable to the ‘Embassy of Vietnam’. Charges for a standard up to 30-day tourist visa are £44 per visa, plus an additional charge, for returning your passport by Royal Mail Special Delivery, of £8 if submitting one passport, £6 per passport for two or three passports, £5 per passport for four to seven passports, or £8 per passport for eight applications. Please allow 5 working days for processing. For full details and a downloadable visa form, please see www.vietnamembassy.org.uk/consular.html.