Travel to Ireland

Please note that the Embassy in Pretoria is dealing with a surge in visa applications, with waiting times also increasing.

Long Stay applicants are encouraged to submit their application at least 8 weeks before their planned date of travel. For Short Stay applicants, at least 3 months before their planned travel date. Please note that the Embassy will only provide status updates to applicants who exceed these waiting times.

South African passport holders do not need to apply for a visa for travel to Ireland at this time. However, other immigration procedures apply. You can find more information on these procuedures here.

Visa fee increase effective 8 September 2023

Single Entry: 1200.00 ZAR

Multiple Entry: 2000.00 ZAR.

Passports

Ireland Passport

All Irish Passport Renewals and First Time applications for adults and children are now processed on Passport Online. Passport Online is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. For more information, queries should be submitted in writing through the Contact Us facility.

PASSPORT ALERT! Third Party Websites

We are aware of third party websites who, in return for a fee, are purporting to assist passport applicants with their online Irish Passport application. Such websites advertising their services for a premium are not associated with the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Passport Service in any way, and therefore not responsible for the content of, or fees charged, by any of these sites.

The Passport Service strongly recommends that online passport applications should ONLY be made directly at www.dfa.ie/passports. Please exercise extreme caution when conducting financial transactions online.

Payment can ONLY be made through EFT as per the following banking details:

Account Name: Dept of Foreign Affairs Ireland - Embassy of Ireland

Bank: First National Bank

Account Number: 55150047692

Account Type: Public Sector Cheque account

Branch Code: 251345 (BROOKLYN),

For international transfers from outside of South Africa:

Physical address of bank: Shop 357, Brooklyn Mall, Cnr Veale & Fehrsen Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ XXX
Bank charges: If you are making a swift transfer from outside South Africa, MAKE SURE you tick that all bank
charges to be borne by sender, and not the receiver (the Embassy).

Important payment instructions

Reference to be used: Applicant’s Surname & First name
Proof of payment must be PRINTED and submitted WITH your visa application. Do not email proof of payment separately.
Please note further that visa applications will not be processed until the payment reflects in our bank account. Be advised that if you are transferring funds from another bank or country, payment can take up to 4 days to reflect in our bank account.

Foreign Birth Registrations

Foreign Birth Registration applications can be entered on the Foreign Births Register if you are eligible to become an Irish citizen. Find out what you need to do before you begin your online application at https://www.dfa.ie/citizenship/.

Emergency Consular Assistance

In the event of a genuine emergency involving an Irish citizen, please send a WhatsApp or SMS to +27 64 662 9726 detailing the nature of the emergency and your personal details. A duty officer will respond as soon as possible. Please note that this is a text-based service only and calls to this number will not be answered.