Ireland - Working Holiday - Working Holiday Visa

Applying for an Irish working holiday visa allows non-visa nationals to immigrate to Ireland for a maximum of 12 months.

As with working holiday schemes in many other destinations, Irish working holiday visas allow their applicants to experience the country as tourists but also to supplement their extended holidays by seeking and undertaking employment in the Republic.

Recent decades have seen an unprecedented growth in immigration to Ireland, the result of strong economic conditions in the country, an excellent quality of life, and a comparatively liberal structure of immigration visa services. However, ensuring that you submit an application for the most appropriate Irish visa for your requirements is an essential step in immigrating to Ireland.

Benefits

The key benefits of a working holiday visa for Ireland is its duration, when compared to a standard Irish visitor visa, and crucially the ability to work in Ireland. The working holiday route enables applicants to remain in the country for longer enjoying a maximum grant of 12 months. In addition, candidates may seek employment, working in Ireland as they choose in order to help finance their stay.

Applicants may also leave and re-enter the country during the validity of their permit, however, it is important to note that time spent outside the Republic still detracts from the overall grant.

Eligibility

In Ireland, immigration via this route requires applicants to satisfy the following criteria:

• All applicants must be aged between 18 and 30 years at the time of making the application.
• Applicants must be able to demonstrate the ability to finance their trip to the country. Although the premise of this Irish visa class is that candidates may work in the country, they must be able to prove at the time of application that they are in possession of sufficient funds.
• Applicants must present a current, valid passport.
• Applicants must disclose any prior criminal convictions or dangerous diseases.

Participating countries are Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Working Conditions

Whilst successful applicants may seek and undertake employment without restriction on the type of work, it is important to note that conditions are in place concerning working hours.

Applicants may not work for more than 39 hours per week and in addition, it is not permitted to work for a period in excess of three months with any one employer.

Spouse Immigration and Dependent immigration

In Ireland, working holiday visa applications may last for a period of twelve months, however, they are nonetheless regarded as temporary immigration services and applicants will be obliged to return to their country of residence at the expiry of the grant.

In Ireland, visas in this class are issued on an individual basis only and applicants may not include their spouse and/or dependent children in their application. Each person will need to meet the eligibility requirements and qualify in their own right.