How to apply for a Schengen visa from Ireland

Do you need a Schengen visa?

It depends on your passport, not on where you live. Irish citizens, like other EU citizens, do not need one. Everyone else needs one if their country is on the EU's visa-required list — Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, which includes, for example, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, China, South Africa and the Philippines. Nationals of the countries in Annex II, such as the United States, Canada or Brazil, can visit without a visa.

Two EU systems are often confused with the visa. ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, is not in operation yet (November 2026); the EU says it will announce the start date several months before launch, and it will not apply to people who need a visa. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is already running: it started on 12 October 2025, has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, and registers non-EU short-stay travellers, with or without a visa, at the Schengen external border, taking a face photo and fingerprints instead of stamping the passport. Ireland does not use the EES, and the EU says passports are still stamped by hand there.

A short-stay (type C) visa covers tourism, visiting family or friends, business trips and short courses, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Longer stays, such as work or study, need a national (type D) visa from the specific country, which has its own process.

Which country to apply to

You apply to one country, chosen by the EU Visa Code's rules:

• Visiting one country: apply to that country.
• Visiting several: apply to the main destination — the one where you will spend the longest, or the one that is the main purpose of the trip.
• No main destination: if neither length nor purpose decides it, apply to the country whose external border you will cross first.

The embassies in Dublin enforce this. France's accepts a request only if France is the principal destination, and Germany's warns that applying to the wrong country can lead to a refusal and affect later applications.

You apply in Ireland because it is where you legally live: under the Visa Code the application goes to the consulate responsible for your place of residence. A consulate may take an application from someone who is only legally present in its area — on a visitor visa, say — but only if the applicant justifies applying there.

Who takes the application depends on the country, and unlike in the UK many Schengen countries take it at their embassy in Dublin: of the 15 most applied for, France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Bulgaria do. The Netherlands, Austria, Croatia and Hungary use VFS Global, as does Denmark, which has taken Finland's short-stay applications since 26 January 2026; Spain uses BLS International and Germany uses VisaMetric. Each has its own booking method — see the booking guide.

When to apply

You can apply up to six months before your trip, and at the latest 15 calendar days before it. In practice the appointment decides your timing, and the embassies in Dublin say so: Belgium's asks you to apply at least three months in advance; Germany's put the wait on VisaMetric's waiting list for tourist and family visits at about three months (November 2026); France recommends applying at least 20 working days before departure; and Italy asks you to secure the appointment before booking flights or hotels.

Your Irish Residence Permit

Every application from Ireland needs your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card, valid beyond your return. The minimum is set by each country:

• Italy and Poland ask for an IRP valid for at least one month after you leave the Schengen Area.
• Italy also asks for proof of your address in Ireland: a recent utility bill or a rental agreement signed by tenant and landlord. It does not accept bank statements as proof of address.
• Greece asks you to bring the IRP card to the appointment with your passport.

Coming back needs no extra visa: Immigration Service Delivery says that with a valid, in-date IRP card you do not need any visa to return to Ireland, and the card is the only document needed to show an airline your permission to live here. Make sure it is still valid on the day you fly back.

Documents residents of Ireland usually need

Each country publishes its own checklist, on its embassy's or visa centre's website, and it is the one that counts. The core is the same everywhere:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid for at least three months after you plan to leave the Schengen Area, with at least two blank pages.
• IRP card, valid beyond your return, with a copy.
• Application form, filled in on the country's own system, printed and signed.
• Photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Proof of means: recent Irish bank statements — Italy asks for the last three months — and a letter from your employer or proof of studies.
• Travel plans: a return flight reservation and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

Fees

Visa fee, adults

€90

Children aged 6 to 11

€45

Children under 6

Free

Service fee

Only where a visa centre company takes the application: for example €30 at VisaMetric for Germany, and €31.03 including VAT at VFS Global for Austria (VisaMetric and VFS Global, November 2026)

The visa fee is set by the EU and is the same for every Schengen country. Where you apply at an embassy, you pay it there: Poland's takes it on the day you apply, and France's takes it in cash or by card, in euros. Where a company takes the application, its service fee comes on top — the Spanish embassy notes that BLS adds one to the consular fee. Some applicants, such as family members of EU citizens, pay no visa fee. France sends passports back only by Registered Post, so bring an envelope stamped at €10.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the application form

   Each country uses its own system — France-Visas for France, VIDEX for Germany, Italy's e-application form. The country guides link to the right one.
2. 2

   Book the appointment, or join the waiting list

   On the embassy's booking system or the visa centre's website, depending on the country. See how booking works in Ireland.
3. 3

   Prepare the documents

   Against the destination's own checklist, with copies of everything.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Hand in the documents, pay the fees and give fingerprints and a photo. Fingerprints given for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months can be reused, so a repeat applicant may not need to give them again.
5. 5

   Wait for the decision

   The consulate decides within 15 calendar days as a rule, and up to 45 in individual cases. How the passport comes back depends on the country: collection, courier or registered post.

Getting the appointment

For the busy destinations the calendar is often empty. New dates appear when an embassy or centre releases them or someone cancels, and they can go quickly. These are the ways to get one, ours among them:

The routes we check are on the Ireland appointment board page. For each country's booking method, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in Ireland.

What applicants reported

Applicants in Ireland have reported 28 visa outcomes to Visa Catcher's statistics. Across all of them, the median time from appointment to passport back was 15 days, and 100% of those with a known outcome were approved. The most-reported destinations:

Spain

6 reports, median 14 days · guide

Germany

5 reports, median 15 days · guide

Netherlands

4 reports, median 17 days · guide

France

3 reports, median 5 days · guide

Denmark

3 reports, median 21 days

All reports from Ireland · how the statistics work

How often new dates appear on the routes we check

Our monitors record every time new dates appear on a route we check in Ireland. These were the busiest over the last 90 days; each route's page has its own pattern.

Dublin → Austria

208 releases on 82 days, typically about 6 hours apart

Dublin → Switzerland

208 releases on 82 days, typically about 6 hours apart

Dublin → Liechtenstein

208 releases on 82 days, typically about 6 hours apart

Dublin → Slovenia

208 releases on 82 days, typically about 6 hours apart

Dublin → Hungary

35 releases on 28 days, typically about 1.5 days apart

Dublin → Netherlands

25 releases on 15 days, typically about 15 hours apart

Dublin → Iceland

15 releases on 11 days, typically about 35 hours apart

Questions

Does an Irish Residence Permit let me travel to the Schengen Area?

No. Ireland is not in the Schengen Area, and an IRP does not allow you to travel to or live freely in other EU countries. If your nationality needs a Schengen visa, you apply for one from Ireland.

Do I need a re-entry visa to come back to Ireland?

Not if you hold a valid, in-date IRP card: Immigration Service Delivery says you then need no visa of any type to return to Ireland. Make sure the card is still valid on the day you come back.

How early can I apply?

Up to six months before the trip and no later than 15 calendar days before it. Several embassies in Dublin advise starting much earlier because appointments are scarce.

How much does a Schengen visa cost from Ireland?

The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11; children under 6 pay nothing. Where a visa centre company takes the application, it adds its own service fee.

How long does the decision take?

As a rule 15 calendar days from the application, extendable to 45 days in individual cases.

Sources

• 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: applying for a Schengen visa
• Regulation (EU) 2018/1806: the EU visa lists (Annex I, visa required; Annex II, visa-free), consolidated text
• European Commission: the Schengen Area
• European Union: ETIAS
• European Union: the Entry/Exit System
• European Commission: the Entry/Exit System
• European Union: what is the EES?
• Immigration Service Delivery: registration FAQs (IRP card, travel and re-entry)
• France-Visas: applying from Ireland
• German Embassy Dublin: short-term visa for Germany
• Embassy of Belgium in Ireland: visa FAQ
• Embassy of Italy in Dublin: visas
• Embassy of Poland in Ireland: C-type Schengen visa
• Embassy of Greece in Dublin: visas
• Embassy of Spain in Ireland: Schengen visas
• VisaMetric Ireland: visa fee and service fee
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland
• VFS Global Austria, Ireland: the Dublin centre and its service fee
• VFS Global Finland, Ireland: short-stay applications through Denmark from 26 January 2026

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.