How to apply for an Austria Schengen visa from Ireland

Where you apply

Apply to Austria if it is your main destination: where you spend the most nights, or the country you enter first if the nights are equal. The Austrian Embassy in Dublin has outsourced its visa services to VFS Global, but every application is still assessed by the embassy. The only centre is VFS Global Dublin, Cunningham House, 130 Francis Street, Dublin 8, open for submissions Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:00.

VFS accepts an application only from someone holding a valid Irish residence permit. If you are in Ireland on a short-stay (C) Irish visa, you apply from your own country of residence. Every applicant, children included, applies in person, and each family member needs their own appointment.

The embassy's home page says it accepts visa applications for Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Liechtenstein through the same VFS booking, and the Slovenian embassy in Dublin confirms this for Slovenia. Some Swiss applications go to the Swiss Regional Consular Centre in London instead: residence for work, study or medical reasons; diplomatic, official, service and special passports; and passports of Bangladesh, Cameroon, the DR Congo, Eritrea, Guinea, Somalia and Iraq.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the application form on a computer

   Download the Schengen form from Austria's VFS page for Ireland (under Download Forms), type it in as your passport shows, print it and sign it. VFS no longer accepts hand-filled forms. The checklist asks you to tick “Dienstleistungserbringer” and choose VFS in the “Akte bearbeitet durch” box.
2. 2

   Book at VFS Global

   Online, on VFS's booking page, one appointment per person. You get a confirmation email and an appointment letter. The embassy says to apply no earlier than six months and no later than 15 calendar days before the trip; VFS's own page still says three months.
3. 3

   Gather the documents

   Against the VFS tourism checklist for Ireland, with photocopies: VFS stamps them after checking the originals.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Hand in the form, documents and passport, give fingerprints, and pay the visa fee and the service fee.
5. 5

   Wait for the decision

   VFS emails you when the passport is back. Collect it on a weekday between 15:00 and 16:00 with your receipt and government ID, or pay extra to have it couriered.

Documents

The country's own checklist is the one that counts. The core of it:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages.
• Your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card, valid beyond your return.
• The signed application form and a photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Recent bank statements, and a letter from your employer or proof of studies or self-employment.
• A flight reservation, and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

On top of that, VFS Global's Austria tourism checklist for Ireland (August 2026) asks for:

• Your physical IRP card, valid at least one month after you return, with one copy: the checklist says the application cannot be processed without the card itself. Two copies of the passport's data page.
• Bank statements for the past three months showing your name, issued no more than a week before you apply (internet printouts are accepted), and payslips for the last three months.
• An original letter from your employer, school or university, or proof of self-employment, on letterhead, no older than ten days and addressed to the Austrian Embassy in Dublin.
• Travel insurance from a company registered to do business in Ireland, naming you and covering at least €30,000, including repatriation.
• A hotel or tour booking with your full name, dates and the address, and travel bookings for the whole trip, including transfers between Schengen countries.
• A 35 × 45 mm photo on a white background, no older than six months, without glasses.

Fees and processing time

Visa fee, adults

€90, paid in euros at the centre (VFS Global and the embassy's visa page, November 2026); the embassy's how-to-apply page still shows the €80 fee in force before June 2024

Children aged 6 to 11

€45; under 6, free

VFS service fee

€31.03 including VAT since 7 July 2025, in cash or by card (VFS Global's Dublin centre page and news, November 2026); VFS's own fee table and the embassy's home page still say €29, and the embassy says it is paid when you book

Processing

Usually 10 working days, according to VFS; the embassy says 15 calendar days as a rule, up to 45 if more checks are needed

VFS says all fees are non-refundable and that cheques and bank transfers are not accepted. The embassy adds that the visa fee is not returned if the visa is refused.

Applications and refusals

In 2025, the consulates of Austria in Ireland received 1,306 short-stay Schengen visa applications: 4.3% of all those lodged in Ireland, and the 6th most of any Schengen country. They refused 0.3% of the applications they decided; across every Schengen country in Ireland the rate was 3.1%, according to the European Commission's visa statistics.

Applications, 2025

1,306

Rank in Ireland

6th of 21 Schengen countries

Refused

0.3%

All Schengen countries in Ireland

3.1% refused

The Commission counts applications where they are lodged, not by nationality, so these are residents of Ireland of many nationalities. A refusal rate is an average over every applicant and says little about any one file; and the country you apply to is set by your main destination, not by its refusal rate.

What applicants reported

Not enough applicants in Ireland have reported an Austria visa yet to show their own figures; these are the 21 reports from every origin. The median time from appointment to passport back was 8 days.

Reports

21

Appointment to passport back (median)

8 days; typically 6–9 days

Approved

100% of 21 with a known outcome

Validity granted (median)

6 months

Multiple entry

43%

See every Austria report · how the statistics work

How often new dates appear

Dublin. Our monitors saw new Austria appointments appear in Dublin 208 times in the last 90 days, on 82 different days; the typical gap between two releases was about 6 hours. The latest release we saw was on 10 November at 09:21 Irish time. Over the past year (552 releases) they were spread across the week and the day, with no day or hour that stands out: new dates can appear at any time.

Getting the appointment

The form is the easy part. The hard part is a free date with VFS Global: when demand is high the calendar can stay empty, and new dates go quickly when they appear. In the last 90 days our monitors saw new dates appear in Dublin 208 times, typically about 6 hours apart.

These are the ways to get a date, including ours:

Each Austria route we track has its own page, and every route is on the Ireland appointment board page. For how the booking systems work, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in Ireland.

• Austria visa appointment, Dublin

Questions

Where do I apply for an Austrian visa in Ireland?

At VFS Global, Cunningham House, 130 Francis Street, Dublin 8, by online appointment. The Austrian Embassy in Dublin has outsourced its visa services to VFS but still assesses every application.

Can I apply for a Swiss, Slovenian or Liechtenstein visa at the Austrian VFS centre in Dublin?

Yes. The Austrian Embassy in Dublin says it accepts visa applications for Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Liechtenstein through VFS, and the Slovenian embassy in Dublin sends Slovenia applicants there. Some Swiss cases, such as work or study stays and holders of certain passports, go to the Swiss Regional Consular Centre in London instead.

How long must my IRP be valid for an Austrian visa?

At least one month after you return from the trip, according to the VFS checklist for Ireland, and you must bring the physical card. If you are in Ireland on a short-stay Irish visa rather than a residence permit, you apply from your country of residence.

Is the Austrian visa appointment in Dublin free?

Yes. The embassy says visa appointments are free of charge. You pay the Schengen visa fee and VFS Global’s service fee; VFS’s extra services are optional and do not come with separate appointments.

What is the refusal rate for Austria Schengen visas in Ireland?

In 2025, the consulates of Austria in Ireland refused 0.3% of the short-stay visa applications they decided, against 3.1% across all Schengen countries in Ireland, according to the European Commission’s visa statistics. They received 1,306 applications, the 6th most of any Schengen country.

Sources

• Austrian Embassy Dublin
• Austrian Embassy Dublin: how to apply
• Austrian Embassy Dublin: visa
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: home and news
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: how to apply
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: visa types, fees, forms and processing
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: book an appointment
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: the Dublin visa application centre
• VFS Global: Austria tourism checklist for Ireland, effective August 2026 (PDF)
• Embassy of Slovenia in Dublin: visa information
• EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (consolidated text of 28 June 2024)
• European Commission: visa policy and the short-stay visa fee
• European Commission: Schengen visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx)

Rules and fees are set by the consulates and their visa centres and can change; check the official pages above before you apply. Our coverage, prices and release statistics on this page are live. Visa Catcher is an independent appointment-tracking service, not affiliated with any visa centre, embassy, consulate or government.