Ireland Visa Appointment in the UK: VFS Lodging Explained

TL;DR

Irish visa applications from England, Scotland and Wales are lodged in person, by appointment, at one of five VFS Global centres: London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham or Cardiff. You bring the signed AVATS form, your documents and yourself for fingerprints. The file reaches the Embassy of Ireland's London visa office within one or two working days, and the visit visa target is 45 days from then. Northern Ireland residents post their application instead. The Embassy decides, not VFS.

Who lodges where

The Embassy of Ireland in London is clear on its Visas for Ireland page: customers residing in England, Scotland and Wales must submit their documents at a Visa Application Centre administered on the Embassy's behalf by VFS, and applications are accepted at five VFS centres by appointment only. Its processing times page names the five: the London centre, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Cardiff. There is no rule tying you to the nearest one.

Applicants in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man do not attend a centre. They send the signed form and documents by tracked post to the Embassy's Visa Office in London, keep the tracking number, and include a prepaid special delivery envelope for the return of the passport.

One rule sits above all of this. You may only apply to the London office if you are legally resident in the UK. Someone here on a visit visa or an ETA cannot lodge in the UK and must apply from the country where they live.

Before you book

The appointment is for handing in a finished application, so the order matters. First complete the online form on AVATS, Ireland's Automated Visa Application and Tracking System, choosing Short Stay (C), single or multiple journey, and your reason for travel. Print, sign and date the Application Summary Form it generates; the form tells you where to submit. Then deal with the fee. Since 28 September 2026 the Embassy says applicants either claim an exemption or pay online when creating the application, selecting United Kingdom as their current location if they will lodge through VFS UK. The same page still says payment is taken at the centre when you submit, so carry a card either way. The London office charges £51 for a single journey and £86 for multiple journeys, in sterling. Waiver-programme nationals who live in the UK, Sri Lankans and a few other nationalities pay no visa fee.

Then book the appointment on the VFS Global page for Ireland from the UK, in your own name. Every traveller needs their own slot, children included, and a parent or guardian attends with a child.

Our desk books this appointment for you, in your own name from your own VFS account, within 3 working days of your complete file, subject to availability, or your service fee back. We never use pooled accounts or bots, and we never pay fees on your behalf.

What to bring

Bring the signed Application Summary Form and the full document pack in the order of the official lists: passport and every old passport with photocopies of every page carrying a visa or stamp, two photos to ISD's rules, proof of your UK permission valid for at least three months after your return, the signed letter of application, bank statements, payslips and employer letter, accommodation bookings or an invitation letter with the host's ID, and the decision letter from any previous visa refusal anywhere. Originals only, in English or with a certified translation. Our document checklist covers each item and the Bundler and Compressor help you prepare clean copies for your own records.

The Embassy's warning is that incomplete applications may not be accepted or may result in a refusal. VFS staff check that the file is correctly submitted. They do not advise on the merits and they cannot fix a missing document.

On the day

At the centre you hand over the form and the pack, your fingerprints and photograph are taken, and any fee due at the counter is paid. VFS Global charges its own service fee for the submission whether or not you are exempt from the visa fee, and offers optional extras you may take or leave. None of them speeds up the decision.

The Embassy's own words settle who does what: your application will be processed and decided by Embassy of Ireland staff, and VFS Global and its staff do not play any part in, or influence, the outcome. VFS exists to make sure the application is correctly submitted.

The clock, and the 45-day target

The Embassy publishes target processing times for complete applications submitted to its London visa office: 45 days for a visit visa, 21 days for business, conference, performance, interview and exam visas, 45 days for study, employment and transit. The clock starts when the file reaches the Embassy's consular section, which is usually one working day after a London appointment and two working days after Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham or Cardiff. For postal applications it starts when the Visa Office accepts the file, up to two working days after recorded delivery.

Applications are examined in date order. The Embassy says it cannot give updates on individual applications because of the volume, but you can track yours by creating an account on ISD's customer portal. ISD's wider guidance says to expect a decision within approximately 8 weeks, longer if documents are missing or need verifying or if there are personal circumstances such as a conviction. Both say not to pay for a travel ticket before you have a decision, and the Visa Office accepts no liability for losses. ISD does not expedite applications except in rare, evidenced emergencies such as a hospitalised relative in Ireland.

Getting your passport back

If the visa is approved it is placed on a blank page of your passport. ISD says the passport and certain originals, such as marriage, birth and death certificates and anything you listed, are returned by post. Postal applicants to London include a prepaid special delivery envelope for exactly this. For a VFS lodging, the return arrangements are explained to you at the centre; the official pages we rely on do not describe them, so we promise neither a method nor a date. Allow for the return in your planning, and do not book travel that assumes a particular day.

Common mistakes

Booking the appointment before the AVATS form is finished, so the summary form is not ready to sign. Arriving with photocopies where originals are required. A bank statement printed at home with no branch stamp or bank certification. An employer letter with a mobile number and no landline, or a Yahoo or Hotmail address, both of which ISD rejects. Forgetting an old passport, which ISD says will delay the application. Leaving out a previous refusal from any country, which the Embassy says will result in refusal with no appeal and a possible five-year bar. Buying flights before the decision.

Doing it yourself, or with us

You can do all of this yourself for the official fees alone: the AVATS form is free to complete, the visa fee is £51 or £86 at the London office or nothing if you are exempt, and VFS charges its service fee. You pay each of those yourself and the visa office alone decides.

Our prepared-for-you Irish visa service does the rest for a £99 service fee, plus £69 for each additional applicant on the same trip up to five: the AVATS form completed with your answers for you to check and sign, the pack built to the ISD list and the London checklist, the letter of application drafted with you, the appointment booked in your own name within 3 working days of your complete file, subject to availability, and a plain brief for the day. Your file is prepared within 24 hours of your complete documents and details, or your fee back, and you get a full refund if you cancel before we start work. We do not attend, give fingerprints, pay fees or promise an outcome. Begin at the plan step. findmyvisa.co.uk is run by WayaNerd Ltd, company number 16269713.