Irish Embassy Dubai: Ireland Visa Application Guide 2026

Quick answer: There is no Irish embassy in Dubai. The Embassy of Ireland is in Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi, and its visa office decides applications from the UAE. You do not go to the embassy to apply. You complete the online application (AVATS), print and sign the summary sheet, and submit your papers through VFS Global in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, which sends them to the embassy for processing. Visa Doctor helps you prepare and cross-check the file and book the VFS step, but we are not the embassy, VFS or the Irish immigration service and cannot promise a decision.

Irish embassy Dubai: where the embassy is and what it does

The Embassy of Ireland in the UAE is at Atiq Bin Majid Al Muhairi Street, Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi (PO Box 61581). The telephone number on the embassy’s website is +971 2 495 8200. The page we checked lists the embassy’s passport and visa services but does not state public opening hours, so check the embassy’s “where to find us” page before any visit. We found no Irish office in Dubai that accepts visa applications. Dubai applicants use the VFS Global application centre in the city instead.

The embassy’s visa office in Abu Dhabi makes the decisions. It publishes weekly decision reports on its website every Friday, which list decisions made by the Abu Dhabi visa office. Check it if you want to see whether decisions are being released without chasing anyone.

VFS Global in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The embassy’s visa page says applicants in the UAE can submit through VFS offices in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, and that VFS sends the application to the Embassy of Ireland in Abu Dhabi for processing. WAFI City’s own website lists the VFS Global centre in its Oud Metha complex as handling Irish visa applications alongside several other countries. The exact floor, unit, hours and phone number are on the VFS Global website, so book and confirm there. VFS staff collect and forward your documents and do not assess the application. They cannot tell you if you will be approved.

Do you need an Irish visa?

That depends on your passport. The Irish Immigration Service says visitors from visa required countries apply for a Short Stay “C” visa, while visitors from visa exempt countries can visit for under 90 days without one. Living in the UAE does not change which group you belong to. Ireland also runs a Short Stay Visa Waiver programme under which some UK visas allow certain nationalities to travel to Ireland without a separate visa, and the embassy has a page explaining it. Check the official lists before you pay anyone.

How the Irish visa application works from the UAE

• Apply online. Complete the visa application form on the Irish immigration portal (AVATS) and note the eight digit AVATS reference number.
• Print and sign the summary sheet. You bring the signed sheet with your documents.
• Gather your documents. The embassy says documents must be original, legible and verifiable, in English or Irish or with a certified translation, and that you submit originals and photocopies separately.
• Submit through VFS. Take your passport, two photographs, supporting documents and fees to the VFS centre. You pay the visa fee and the VFS service charge to VFS. The embassy says visa fees are non refundable.
• Wait for the decision. The embassy decides, and VFS tells you how your passport is returned. Your passport stays with the application during processing, so do not plan travel on it in the meantime.

Our guide to the Ireland visa from Dubai explains the visa type and process for UAE residents.

Biometrics: do UAE residents give fingerprints?

The Irish Immigration Service says residents of China, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria and Pakistan must provide fingerprints each time they apply, with the capture done at VFS visa application centres. The UAE is not in that list at the time of writing. The rule is about where you live when you apply, so confirm the current list on the Irish immigration biometrics page, because countries can be added.

Documents UAE residents typically prepare

VFS Global’s checklist for the Irish visa in the UAE lists the following core items, and your purpose of travel adds more:

• The completed, dated and signed application form.
• A passport valid for at least six months with two empty visa pages, and a photocopy of the bio page and all visas and stamps.
• Evidence of your UAE residence, with photocopies of the card or visa.
• Two passport photographs less than six months old on a white background.
• Bank statements for the last six months.
• A salary certificate or employment letter dated within the previous four weeks.
• For a visit to family or friends, a copy of the host’s passport and residence permission, and a covering letter explaining the reason for travel.
• For business travel, a letter from your company and an invitation from the Irish company.

What to bring to VFS

• Your original passport and the signed AVATS summary sheet showing the eight digit reference number.
• Two photographs and all originals with a separate set of photocopies.
• Your appointment confirmation, if you booked a slot, and your Emirates ID.
• Payment for the visa fee and VFS service charge, in the form VFS accepts on the day.

Common mistakes

• Looking for an Irish embassy or consulate counter in Dubai. Use VFS.
• Submitting without the printed and signed summary sheet.
• Bank statements that do not cover six months, or an employer letter older than four weeks.
• Applying with a passport that has less than six months validity or no blank pages.
• Assuming that a UK or Schengen visa automatically works for Ireland. Ireland is not in the Schengen area, and only specific waiver rules apply.
• Paying for an “embassy appointment” that the visa process does not require.

How Visa Doctor helps

Visa Doctor is a licensed Dubai visa documentation and appointment agency (licence 4417571.01). We are not the Embassy of Ireland, VFS Global or a government body, and we cannot issue an Irish visa. We help you work out whether you need a visa or can use a waiver, prepare a consistent file, check your AVATS answers against your documents and organise the submission steps. See our services for visa document preparation and visa appointment booking, or browse all visa services in Dubai.

Last checked: October 2026, against the Embassy of Ireland UAE website, its Visas for Ireland page, the Irish Immigration Service visitor page, the biometrics page and the VFS Global Ireland UAE checklist. Confirm hours and fees on those pages.

This guide is part of our embassies, consulates and visa centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi hub, which lists every country guide in one place.

Frequently asked questions