Ireland Visitor Visa for Parents from Punjab

The invitation letter from family in Ireland

Irish Immigration asks you to sign and date every invitation letter and to:

• Say why you are inviting them, the dates you plan to see them in Ireland and how you know them.
• Include a clear colour copy of the photo page of your passport or national ID card (Irish citizens too).
• Say that you understand they must obey the conditions of the visa, not rely on public services such as public hospitals, and leave Ireland before their permission ends.

Each host at a different home address writes a separate letter.

The letter must also include, where they apply:

• If your parents will stay in your home: that you are inviting them to stay with you there
• If your parents will stay in your home: the dates of the stay and your full postal address, including the Eircode
• If you are not an Irish, EU/EEA or Swiss citizen: a clear colour copy of your current Irish Residence Permit and of the current permission stamp in your passport
• If you will help pay for the trip: a cost estimate in euro of what you will pay for (for example flights, accommodation and living costs), with documents that prove you can afford it

For the accommodation plan, Irish Immigration asks for each host’s full name, address and proof that they live there, such as a utility bill from the last 6 months. See also our invitation letter guide and the parents’ visa checklist.

What your parents prepare in Punjab

• Each parent applies separately online (AVATS) and keeps the Visa Application Transaction Number
• A passport valid for at least 6 months after the date they plan to leave Ireland, plus copies of all previous passports
• Two colour passport photos each, signed on the back in their own script, with the transaction number written on the back
• Their own application letter: the reason for the visit, the dates, where they will stay, who pays, the names and addresses of all family in Ireland and elsewhere in the EU/EEA or Switzerland, proof of the relationship (for example birth and marriage certificates) and evidence that you keep in contact
• Evidence of strong family, social or economic ties in India, so the officer is satisfied they will leave on time
• Details of any past visa refusal: Irish Immigration says it will refuse an application that leaves them out

Documents must be originals. Anything not in English or Irish needs a full certified translation, and government-issued certificates from outside the EEA, such as Indian birth and marriage certificates, must be attested or apostilled by the issuing country’s foreign ministry (for India, the Ministry of External Affairs). Translations made outside the EEA must also be attested. Travel insurance is not needed with the application, but your parents must carry it and show it on arrival if asked.

Visiting the UK and Ireland on one visa

British Irish Visa Scheme. Indian nationals living in India can travel to both Ireland and the UK on one short-stay visa if the visa officer endorses it ‘BIVS’. They must first travel to the country that issued the visa: an Irish visa means Ireland first, a UK visitor visa means the UK first. Whether to endorse it is the officer’s decision, and there is no appeal if they do not. (Irish Immigration · GOV.UK)

Short-Stay Visa Waiver Programme. India is on Ireland’s list for this programme. A parent who holds a UK short-stay visitor visa, and has landed in the UK and been given permission to stay there, can then visit Ireland without an Irish visa. The visit must fit inside the UK permission and can last up to 90 days, or the time left on the UK permission if that is shorter. If they have already been to the UK and gone home, they can fly directly to Ireland while time remains on that UK permission. It does not cover UK transit or marriage visitor visas, or a UK ETA, and it does not work the other way: an Irish visa does not let anyone enter the UK. Irish Immigration’s programme leaflet says the programme is to continue until 31 October 2026 and may be amended at any time, so for a visit after that date, check irishimmigration.ie before relying on it. (Irish Immigration programme page and leaflet, checked 3 October 2026.) Visiting the UK as well? See our UK visitor visa page.

What we do in Jalandhar, and what the Irish visa officer decides

• A document checklist for your parents and a review of their papers, including funds and ties
• Help arranging certified translations and the attestation or apostille of Indian certificates, through the official channels
• Guidance on your invitation letter and their application letter
• Help with the online form and sending the documents, explained in Punjabi at our office on Police Line Road

The Irish visa officer decides every application and whether a visa is endorsed ‘BIVS’. Nobody can promise a visa.

Our fee

• Visitor visa on invitation or sponsorship (host’s invitation letter with proof of their status): ₹19,999 including GST
• Each extra family member on the same trip: +₹8,999
• Tourist or visitor visa without an invitation: ₹29,999 including GST

The government visa fee and any visa-centre fee are paid separately by the applicant. The first 15 minutes of consultation are free. Full terms: Fees & refunds.