Following the visa waiver announced by the Irish Department of Justice last week for Ukrainian citizens, our immigration team has received a substantial number of queries from Russian citizens and non-EEA national persons residing in Russia seeking to apply for visas to travel to Ireland.

Examples include spouses of Irish citizens seeking to obtain Long Stay D visas to travel to Ireland, partners of Irish citizens looking to obtain pre-clearance as the de facto partner of an Irish citizen, non-EEA National employment permit holders who have been issued with employment permits from the Department of Enterprise who require an employment visa (D visa) in order to enter the Irish state to take up the employment, family members of EU Nationals currently exercising or planning to exercise EU Treaty rights in Ireland, and other family members of Irish citizens and/or Russian citizens currently residing in Ireland.

At present, the Embassy of Ireland Russia remains open and is currently processing applications for Irish visas and Irish passports as normal. Irish citizens residing in Russia who are seeking to apply for a first time Irish passport or renew their Irish passport should submit the application directly to the Embassy of Ireland Russia which is located in Moscow.

Russian citizens or residents seeking to apply for a visa to travel to Ireland should submit the application to their local VFS Global office in Russia who will then forward the application to the Embassy of Ireland in Moscow for processing. Further information on travelling to Ireland from Russia is available on the Embassy of Ireland Russia page here.

Sinnott Solicitors will continue to monitor the ever-changing situation and provide further updates as they are announced.

Should you require assistance with your Irish visa application or any Irish immigration matter, do not hesitate to contact our offices in Dublin and Cork on 00353 1406 2862 or info@sinnott.ie