Ireland visa requirements for Russian citizens

VFS Global centres in Russia (Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar and Saratov), for the visa office of the Embassy of Ireland in Moscow

A Russian needs a visa for Ireland, and a Schengen or UK visa is not valid. The Embassy of Ireland in Moscow no longer takes applications in person: the online form is completed and everything, with the fee, is handed in at a VFS Global centre, which forwards it to the embassy's visa office and later returns the passport. There are centres in Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar and Saratov. The fee is 5,400 roubles for a single-entry visa, 8,800 for a multiple-entry one and 2,200 for a transit visa, plus the VFS service charge, paid in cash or by card at the centre. Documents not in English need a notarised translation. Applications can be lodged at most three months before travel, and the office no longer answers the phone, only email.

Official application site →

What the visa centre can and can't do →

Authorisation system

None (Ireland is not part of Schengen or ETIAS)

Ireland is an EU member state but not part of the Schengen Area: it maintains its own border regime within the Common Travel Area it shares with the United Kingdom. This is why ETIAS: the European travel authorisation system, not yet operational for Schengen countries: doesn't apply to entering Ireland at all, either now or once it launches. As of the verification date, Ireland has no electronic travel authorisation system of its own, operational or announced.

Fee

5,400 RUB

Amount published by the consular post that handles this corridor; the country page may give another consulate's figure.

Required documents

• A valid passport or equivalent document establishing your identity and nationality, to be handed to the immigration officer on request along with any information they reasonably require. Not required of under-16s (Immigration Act 2004, s. 11)
• A valid Irish visa if your nationality needs one. It is a separate visa: a Schengen visa does not get you into Ireland (s. 4(3))
• Being in a position to support yourself and any dependants travelling with you. The Act sets no figure: the officer assesses it (s. 4(3))
• Your real reason for travelling has to match the one you state: the officer can refuse entry if there is reason to believe you intend to enter for purposes other than those expressed (s. 4(3))

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

Transit rules

The Schengen 90/180-day rule does not apply to Ireland, since it is not a Schengen member. British and Irish citizens can move between both countries without passport control or a stay limit thanks to the Common Travel Area; all other nationalities should check Ireland's own stay regime (Immigration Service Delivery), independent from that of any other European country.