Medical Treatment Visa Ireland

What is the Medical Treatment Visa in Ireland?

The Medical Treatment Visa to Ireland is intended for those who want to come to Ireland to attend an appointment at a private medical hospital and who will receive medical treatment in their country.

It is a Short Stay ‘C’ Visa, which means that its holders can stay in Ireland for up to 90 days. After this period, they have to leave the country.

If you want to apply for the Medical Treatment Visa, you have to provide documents from a referring hospital in your home country explaining your medical condition and proposed treatment. You also have to provide a statement from the hospital explaining why the procedure cannot be performed by them and needs to be done in Ireland.

Who can apply for the Ireland Medical Treatment Visa?

If you are a citizen of UK or a country that is a member state of the EU/EEA, you do not need a visa to come to Ireland for a period of up to 90 days. That means that you can come to Ireland to receive medical treatment without having to apply for a visa.

However, you need to obtain the Medical Treatment Visa prior to arrival in Ireland if you are coming from one of the visa required countries.

To be eligible for the Medical Treatment Visa, you have to have an appointment with a private hospital in Ireland scheduled. The hospital has to have confirmed that they will carry out the procedure you need.

You must have to have enough funds to pay for the treatment in full and you have to be able to prove that the procedure cannot be done in your home country.

If you are not sure whether you are eligible for the Medical Treatment Visa to Ireland, get in touch with our immigration experts. They will tell you whether the Medical Treatment Visa is the right permit for the purpose of your visit to Ireland and provide further details on the requirements.

How to apply for Ireland Medical Treatment Visa?

There are three steps in the application process for the Irish Medical Treatment Visa.

First, you need to submit a visa application online. In the online form you need to provide personal details and state that the purpose of your visit to Ireland is ‘medical treatment.’ After you complete the online application, you will be shown the application summary.

There, you find out what your Visa Application Transaction Number is and what application office you have been assigned. Make sure to print, sign, and date the application summary sheet and submit it with other required documents at a later stage of the application process.

The next step is to pay the non-refundable visa application fee that covers the administrative cost of processing your application.

Finally, you have to send your passport and other supporting documents for processing. You will find out where to send them after you submit your visa application online.

If your application is approved, immigration officers will place an Irish visa in your passport and will send it back to you.

What documents do I need for Ireland Medical Treatment Visa application?

In your application for the Ireland Medical Treatment Visa, you need to include the following documents:

• Passport valid for at least six months past your planned stay in Ireland
• Receipt showing that you paid the visa fee
• Signed and dated application summary sheet
• Two passport size photographs
• Application letter explaining why you want to travel to Ireland, how long you intend to stay, and what the estimated cost of your trip will be
• Statement in which you commit to obey the conditions of your visa
• Letter from your referring hospital explaining what your medical conditions is and what procedure should be performed to treat it
• Letter from a hospital in Ireland with your confirmed appointment details
• Details of your accommodation plans in Ireland
• Proof of having travel and medical insurance
• Proof that you have enough money to cover your expenses during your stay in Ireland
• Evidence that you have ties in your home country that will make you return after your visa expires.

You need to submit all the documents to your designated application office within 30 days of completing the online application. You may also need to submit further evidence based on your individual circumstances.

If you fail to include some of these documents, the processing of your application might take longer. To avoid delays, seek assistance from one of our immigration consultants. They will help you gather all the evidence and put together a complete portfolio of evidence.

What information needs to be included in the letter from the referring hospital?

Before you submit your application for the Medical Treatment Visa, you have to ask the hospital that recommended treatment in Ireland, to write you a letter with the following information:

• Detailed description of your medical condition including prognosis
• The recommended medical treatment
• Reason why the treatment cannot be performed by this particular hospital or another hospital in your home country
• Contact details of your hospital and your doctor.

In addition to that, the letter has to include confirmation that:

• Your doctor has been in touch with the hospital in Ireland and discussed the suggested treatment with them
• Your health is good enough for you to travel to Ireland
• Your health is good enough for you to come back to your home country after the treatment.

The letter should also mention whether the same treatment is available in other countries that might be closer to where you live.

What is the cost of the Ireland Medical Treatment Visa?

When you are applying for the Medical Treatment Visa, you can either apply for a single or a multiple-entry visa. The price for the former is €60 and for the latter €100. Keep in mind that the multiple-entry visa is granted only in exceptional circumstances. If you want to receive a multi-entry visa, you have to explain why you might need to leave and reenter Ireland throughout the validity of your visa.

The fee is non-refundable so you will not get the money back even if you withdraw your application or if your application is not approved. You can pay the visa fee online using the account you created to submit your online visa application.

What is the processing time of the Irish Medical Treatment Visa?

As the Medical Treatment Visa is a Short Stay ‘C’ Visa, the processing usually takes around eight weeks. Most applicants receive the decision within this time frame but it is not guaranteed. The waiting time can be different if the application office you submitted your documents to is dealing with large numbers of visa applications, or if you forgot to include some of the required information.

How can IAS help?

Here at IAS, our Immigration experts can provide legal advice and have expert knowledge of Irish immigration law. They can assess your eligibility for the Medical Treatment Visa and can help you complete and submit your application for it.

Our experts will answer all your questions and clear any doubts you might have. They will also explain to you in detail what the conditions of your visa are to make sure you do not accidentally violate the terms of your permit.

We have helped many clients successfully apply for various visas to Ireland, including the Medical Treatment Visa.

To find out more about how we can help, call us today on +353 19039449 or +44 (0)333 414 9244.