Ireland Long Stay (D) Study Visa Instructions
Long Stay (class D) Study visas are required for some international students who wish to participate in the Dublin Internship, Engineering or Management programs during the Fall or Spring semesters. Please check your country of citizenship here to see if you are required to apply for a visa.
Although preparing the application only takes 1-2 weeks, the processing time is usually quoted at 8 weeks, so please apply immediately. There is currently no way to officially expedite the process. You will be applying for a single entry visa.
You will need to submit your visa application to the Irish Consulate in Boston by June 8, 2020.
Application Steps:
Step #1:
Apply online for your Long Stay Visa (Class D) for study online via the AVATS system. You can access the online visa application here. To make sure you are filling it out correctly, use the Spring 2020 Long Stay Visa (D) Visa Sample Form (available soon).
Step #2:
Take note of your “unique visa transaction number” and submit your visa online. Print the visa application summary page and sign it.
Step #3:
Compile all necessary documents. BU Study Abroad will provide some items for you, as noted below:
- Original passport
Valid for 6 months after the end date of the program, and copies of previous passports (if applicable). The Irish Consulate will keep your passport for the entire processing time. - Original I-20 or US Green Card, and US Visa
If your US visa is located in an expired passport, you will need to submit both your current and expired passports (not photocopies). The Irish Consulate will return all immigration documents after your visa is issued. - Printed online visa application and signed summary application form.
Both of these are printed from the AVATS application system. - 2 Passport Photographs
You must get these photos taken professionally. They should not be the same as the photo in your actual passport. The standard US 2”x2” photo size is acceptable. Post Offices, and CVS all take/print passport photos locally. - Visa Fee – $81
You will need to submit a money order made payable to “The Consulate General of Ireland” . Personal checks and cash are not acceptable. Money orders can be purchased at most bank branches, grocery stores, post offices, and pharmacies.
- Signed letter of application
First of three personalized letters provided by your program manager. You will only need to sign and date at the bottom of the letter. - BU Visa Letter
Second of three personalized letters provided by your program manager. You will need to print this letter in high quality color. - GeoBlue Insurance letter
Third of three personalized letters provided by your program manager. You will need to print this letter in high quality color. - UCD Acceptance Email (MANAGEMENT PROGRAM STUDENTS ONLY):
This email is personalized and provided by University College Dublin (UCD) after you have been admitted by UCD. You must submit a copy of this email to the Irish Consulate General to complete your visa application. - Official transcript
If you are a BU student, you can pick this up in person from the Registrar’s office. Please be sure to leave the transcript sealed, so the consulate knows that it official. Print-outs of your transcript from the StudentLink are not acceptable.
- Financial Documentation
You will need to supply 6 months of bank statements showing access to a minimum of EUR €3000 (or the equivalent in your local currency) for the duration of your stay.
– You may use a parent’s bank statements (online print-outs are fine), but they will need to supply a letter addressed to the Irish Consulate General indicating that they will be financially supporting you for the duration of your stay in Ireland. This letter needs to be signed by the account holder.
– If you meet the financial requirement on your own , you may use your own bank statements (online print-outs are fine).
- Proof of English language exam score
The results from whatever exam you used to enter BU (or your current institution). A print out of the scores from the TOEFL (or similar) website is acceptable. You do not need to provide an official score report. - Return Postage:
Include a separate money order for $15 to pay for return postage for your passport and immigration documents. DO NOT include the $15 in the money order for the standard visa fee. If you don’t pay for return shipping from the consulate, but want your documents mailed back to you, you must provide a pre-paid, self-addressed shipping label and envelope for the consulate. It must have a tracking number. Alternatively, you can make an appointment to pick up your visa at the Irish Consulate in Boston, if you wish. You will be contacted once your visa is issued by the Irish Consulate.
- If you have been refused a visa for any other country, details of this must be given. Submit the original letter issued to you by the authorities of that country. Concealment of visa refusals will result in your Irish visa application being refused.
- If visiting another country prior to traveling to Ireland, the relevant visa for that country must be obtained and in your passport before applying for an Irish visa.
- Confirmation of Acceptance Letter (MANAGEMENT PROGRAM STUDENTS ONLY):
This letter is personalized and provided by University College Dublin (UCD) after you have accepted your admission offer from UCD. You will not receive this letter until AFTER you have submitted your visa application. However, you must submit this letter to the Irish Consulate General to complete your visa application and ensure you get the visa.
Step #4:
You must submit your application materials to the Irish Consulate of Boston. You may do this either by mail or by in-person appointment.
If submitting in person, please schedule an in-person appointment, please call the consulate directly at 617-267-9330. In person appointments can typically be booked a few days in advance.
If submitting by mail, please send your visa application and all supporting documents to the Irish Consulate in Boston at the following address:
Consulate General of Ireland
Attn: Visa Office
535 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
You must track your visa mailing. FedEx, UPS, and DHL do this automatically, you will need to request tracking from USPS. Overnight or 2nd day mail only. Please save your tracking number to make sure you know where your visa application is at any given time.
You can also submit an extra $15 money order for return shipping by FedEx. If you don’t pay for return shipping from the consulate, but want your documents mailed back to you, you must provide a pre-paid, self-addressed shipping label and envelope for the consulate. It must have a tracking number. Alternatively, you can make an appointment to pick up your visa at the Irish Consulate in Boston, if you wish. You will be contacted once your visa is issued by the Irish Consulate.
Routine visa applications take about 8 weeks once they reach the consulate, and are almost always referred to the Department of Immigration in Dublin. Please plan to submit your visa application as soon as possible and allow enough time to get your visa before you travel. There is no way to expedite a visa application.
If you have any issues with your visa, please contact your Program Manager.
A note on travel during your time in Ireland:
You will be applying for a single-entry visa into Ireland. Unless you have demonstrated previous successful travel experience in Ireland (2 previous Irish visas issued and used), then you would not qualify for a multiple entry visa anyway.
If the number of journeys indicated on your visa is ’01’ then you can only enter Ireland once on this visa. After you have registered with the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) after your arrival in Ireland, you can then apply for a ‘Re-entry Visa’ for travel.
If you apply for a multiple journey re-entry visa, it will be valid from the date of issue until the expiry date on the Registration Card issued to you by the INIS, or the expiry date of your passport, whichever is earliest. This will allow you to leave and re-enter Ireland any number of times within the dates shown on your visa.
If you apply for a single journey re-entry visa, this will only be valid for one entry to the State within the dates shown on the visa, which will be for 90 days from the date of issue. (It will not be valid for the duration of your INIS card).
To avoid having to apply for further visas for the duration of your permission to remain, you should apply for a multiple-entry re-entry visa. You may also need to apply for a Schengen visa for travel into continental Europe.
