Europe· Visa support
Ireland visa requirements from Nigeria
Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Ireland, and it is a separate visa from the UK one — Ireland is not in the Schengen area and a UK visa does not admit you. You apply online through AVATS, print the summary letter it produces, and submit it with your documents. The processing window is one of the longest among the European destinations we handle, which makes lead time the main thing to plan around.
- Nigerian passport
- Visa required
- Typical processing
- 20–40 business days
- Government fee
- EUR 60 (short-stay single); EUR 100 multiple
- Paid to the embassy. Rayonner's fee is separate and quoted before you commit.
Who needs a visa for Ireland?
By passport, for the nationalities we most often process. Where an answer is conditional it depends on the length of your stay, the purpose of the trip, or what other visas you already hold — tell us your situation and we will confirm it.
- Nigerian passportVisa required
- Ghanaian passportVisa required
- Kenyan passportVisa required
- South African passportVisa required
- American passportNo visa needed
- Canadian passportNo visa needed
Ireland visa requirements: what you need
The document set we work to. Missions ask for additional items depending on the visa class and your circumstances, and we tell you which apply to you before anything is submitted.
- International passport with at least 6 months validity
- Online AVATS application + summary letter
- Two recent passport-sized photographs
- Proof of funds — 6 months of personal bank statements
- Confirmed flight reservation and hotel booking
- Sponsor's affidavit + Irish residency proof (if applicable)
- Travel insurance covering full stay
What actually decides a Ireland application
Ireland is most often the second leg of a trip. Someone visiting family in the UK adds Dublin; a business traveller pairs it with a London meeting. That pattern is exactly where the mistake happens, because the two countries look adjacent on a map and behave as though they are not. Treated as its own application with its own timeline, Ireland is straightforward; treated as an add-on decided late, it is the leg that gets dropped.
Start earlier than the UK leg of the same trip
The processing window here is longer than for the UK. If you are doing both, Ireland is the one that sets your earliest possible travel date, so it should be the first application you begin rather than the one you get to afterwards.
The AVATS summary letter is part of the submission
The online application produces a summary that must be printed, signed and submitted with the supporting documents. A file that arrives without it is incomplete, and it is a genuinely common omission because the online step feels like the whole application.
Travel insurance covering the full stay
Cover for the entire period is required. Match the policy dates to the dates you actually applied for — a policy that expires before your stated return is the kind of small inconsistency that causes an avoidable query.
How Rayonner helps
Often paired with a UK visa for short city-break circuits. Processing window is long; start at least 6 weeks before travel.
In practice that means we check the document set against what the mission is currently asking for, flag what is missing or inconsistent before it is submitted rather than after it is refused, and book the flights and accommodation the application needs — as reservations, so you are not buying non-refundable travel against a decision you do not yet have. We are an IATA Accredited Travel Agent, so the ticketing and the visa file are handled by the same people.
This page is first-time guidance, not a legal source. The embassy, consulate or immigration authority for your destination is the only authority on its own requirements, and they can change without notice. Fees shown are what the government charges and are estimates — they are paid by you to the mission, and Rayonner's processing fee is separate and quoted before you commit. No agency, including this one, decides or can guarantee the outcome of a visa application.
Free assessment
How strong is your Ireland application?
A few quick questions, one at a time. At the end you will see the specific things weakening your file and what would change them — not a guess at the decision.
Free · no sign-up to begin · about a minute
Ireland visa: common questions
Do Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Ireland?
Yes. Nigerian passport holders need a visa for Ireland, and it must be arranged before you travel rather than on arrival.
How long does a Ireland visa take to process?
20–40 business days. That is the published window rather than a promise — missions do move, and a file that comes back with a query starts the clock again. Work backwards from your travel date and leave margin.
How much does a Ireland visa cost?
The government charge is EUR 60 (short-stay single); EUR 100 multiple. You pay that to the embassy or consulate directly. Rayonner's processing fee is separate from it and is quoted to you before you commit to anything.
Does a UK visa let me enter Ireland?
Not by itself for Nigerian passport holders — Ireland maintains its own visa system, sits outside Schengen, and requires its own application. There have been limited visa-waiver arrangements between the two at various times, but they have not covered all nationalities or all circumstances, so it is not something to rely on. Plan on two separate visas and confirm the current position with us.
How far ahead should I apply for an Irish visa?
Work back from the processing window shown above and add real margin — six weeks before travel is a sensible floor, and more is better in the summer. Because Ireland is frequently the slower half of a UK-and-Ireland trip, it is the application that should be started first.
Flights you will need for this trip
We book the travel and the visa together, so the dates on your application and the dates on your reservation are the same dates.
Travelling for study or business?
Those applications are assessed differently and need documents this page does not cover. We have written up each one separately.
Other visas we process
Prepared in Abuja and Lagos
Rayonner Travels & Logistics Ltd is an IATA Accredited Travel Agent, certified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Your file is reviewed by a person you can call, in an office you can visit.
