Ireland Work Visa from Pakistan (2026): Fees, Documents & Decisions

Last updated: 30 October 2026 | Checked against Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), the Embassy of Ireland in Pakistan and DETE permit statistics.

If you are in Pakistan and an Irish employer has offered you a job, the next hurdle is the visa. Pakistanis are visa-required for Ireland, so even with an approved employment permit you cannot board a flight until a Long Stay D Employment visa is stamped in your passport.

This guide walks through that visa from start to finish: where Pakistani applications are actually decided, the documents visa officers expect, what it costs in euro and rupees, how long the Dublin queue is right now, how to check your result every Tuesday, and what to do if you are refused. If you are still looking for the job itself, start with our guide to jobs in Ireland for Pakistanis and come back here once you have an offer.

Quick answer

You apply online through AVATS, pay the visa fee online (€60 single entry or €100 multiple entry), then lodge your passport and documents as your summary form directs. Applications from Pakistan are decided by the Dublin Visa Office, which publishes decisions every Tuesday. On 27 October 2026 Dublin was deciding employment visa applications it had received by 25 August 2026, so allow at least two months after your documents arrive.

Table of Contents

Key Facts at a Glance

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Topic	What applies to Pakistani citizens
Visa needed?	Yes. Pakistan is a visa-required country for Ireland
Visa type for work	Long Stay D Employment visa
Before you apply	You must already hold an Irish employment permit (or another work permission)
Where it is decided	Dublin Visa Office (Pakistan is not covered by any of ISD’s seven overseas visa offices)
Visa fee	€60 single entry, €100 multiple entry, paid online in AVATS; non-refundable
Other charges	A separate service charge where you lodge documents (for example VFS Global)
When to apply	Up to 3 months before your travel date
Passport validity	At least 12 months after your planned arrival date
Typical decision time	About 8 weeks from receipt (ISD guidance)
Dublin queue (27 Oct 2026)	Employment applications received up to 25 August 2026 being decided
If refused	Free appeal within 2 months of the refusal letter; one appeal per application
Permits issued to Pakistanis	1,453 in 2025; 1,448 in January to September 2026 (DETE)

Permit First, Visa Second: The Two Stages

Most confusion about “Ireland work visa from Pakistan” comes from treating the permit and the visa as one thing. They are two separate decisions made by two separate government bodies.

Stage one is the employment permit. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) decides whether you may work in a specific job for a specific employer. The usual routes are the Critical Skills Employment Permit and the General Employment Permit. From 1 March 2026 the minimum salaries are €40,904 for Critical Skills roles and €36,605 for most General Employment Permit roles (€32,691 for healthcare assistants and certain other roles).

Stage two is the visa. Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), Ireland’s immigration service, decides whether you may travel to Ireland to take up that job. ISD only looks at a work visa once the permit exists. Its own guidance is blunt: once you have received a permit, you are eligible to apply for an employment visa.

So if anyone in Pakistan offers to “apply for your Ireland work visa” before you have an Irish employer and a DETE permit, they are selling you something that does not exist.

Two stages for Pakistani workers: stage 1 employment permit decided by DETE, stage 2 Long Stay D employment visa decided by ISD in Dublin — The employment permit and the visa are separate decisions by DETE and ISD.

Where Pakistanis Apply in 2026: Embassy, Visa Centres and Dublin

Search results are full of out-of-date advice on this, so here is how it works now.

There is now an Embassy of Ireland in Islamabad

Older pages say Ireland has no embassy in Pakistan and only an honorary consul in Karachi. That is no longer the full picture. The Embassy of Ireland, Pakistan is based at Level 06, West Wing, Serena Business Complex, Khayaban-e-Suhrwardy Road, G-5/1, Islamabad, and Ireland now has an Ambassador to Pakistan.

However, the embassy’s own visa page sends applicants to the Irish immigration service website for visa rules and explains that your online summary form tells you where to submit. So check your summary form before heading anywhere with your file.

Your application is decided in Dublin

ISD runs seven overseas visa offices (Beijing, New Delhi, Abuja, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, London and Ankara), and each lists the countries it covers. Pakistan is not on any of those lists. Applications from residents of Pakistan are therefore decided by the Dublin Visa Office at 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. This matters for two reasons: Dublin publishes its processing dates and decisions online every Tuesday, and any appeal goes to the Visa Appeals Office in Dublin.

Where you hand in your documents

When you finish the AVATS form, it produces an Application Summary Form that tells you exactly where to send your passport and supporting documents. For applicants in Pakistan this is usually one of the four Ireland visa application centres run by VFS Global in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Mirpur (see our guide to the Irish embassy and visa centres in Pakistan for addresses, hours and the VFS fee). Always follow what your own summary form says, because it reflects the current arrangement for your application.

How to Apply for an Ireland Work Visa From Pakistan: Step by Step

Six steps to an Ireland work visa from Pakistan: permit approved, passport and documents, AVATS form, pay online, sign and submit, check decisions on Tuesdays — The six steps, from permit approval to the weekly decision list.

Step 1: Get your employment permit approved

Your employer (or you) applies to DETE through the Employment Permits Online System. Wait for the permit decision; it can take weeks, and DETE publishes live processing dates. Our work permit processing time guide explains how to read them.

Step 2: Check your passport and gather documents early

Your passport must be valid for at least 12 months after the date you plan to arrive in Ireland. If it will not be, renew it before you apply. Start collecting the documents in the checklist below at the same time, especially anything that needs attestation, because that is usually the slowest part for Pakistani applicants.

Step 3: Complete the AVATS form online

Fill in the visa application on ISD’s Automated Visa Application and Tracking System (AVATS). Choose Long Stay (D), purpose Employment. Answer every question fully and honestly, and make sure your name, passport number and dates match your passport exactly. You can apply up to three months before your travel date.

Step 4: Pay the visa fee online

Pakistan is on ISD’s list of countries where applicants pay the visa fee online as part of the AVATS application (the list was last revised in September 2026). You pay by card, then receive a confirmation email with a payment transaction ID. Print that email and put it in your file, because you must include proof of payment with your documents.

Step 5: Print, sign and submit

Print the Application Summary Form, sign and date it, and send it with your passport, photographs and supporting documents to the place it names. Documents must be hard copies; ISD will not open USB sticks or file-sharing links. Keep photocopies of everything, because bank statements and letters are not returned.

Step 6: Track the Dublin queue and check decisions on Tuesdays

Once your file reaches Dublin, it joins the employment queue in date order. Check the processing dates and the weekly decision list (explained below). Do not buy a non-refundable ticket until you have a decision.

Documents Checklist for the Employment Visa

ISD lists the documents below for a long stay employment visa. Missing documents are one of the main reasons for refusal, so treat this as a minimum, not a menu.

Checklist of documents for an Irish employment visa: summary form, payment email, passport, photos, application letter, employment permit, contract, employer letter, qualifications, bank statement, previous refusals — The core documents ISD asks for with an employment visa application.

Document	What ISD expects, plus tips for Pakistani applicants
Signed summary form	The AVATS Application Summary Form, signed and dated, plus your online payment confirmation email
Passport	Current passport valid for 12 months after arrival, plus photocopies of every page of previous passports if you have them
Two photographs	Colour, passport-sized, no more than 6 months old. Sign the back of each one and write your AVATS transaction number on it
Application letter	Signed and dated. State your full name, address and contact details, why you are coming, how long you will stay, any family in Ireland or the EU, where you will live, and your commitment to respect the visa conditions
Employment permit	A copy of your DETE permit (Critical Skills, General Employment, Intra-Company Transfer or another permit type)
Contract of employment	Your signed contract. If you do not have one yet, a letter from your employer instead
Letter from your Irish employer	Details of the job, your salary, and accommodation if the employer is providing it
Qualifications and experience	For example your 3 most recent payslips, salary credits to your bank account, an experience letter, tax records, degree and professional certificates. Degrees are normally verified by the HEC before Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation, so start early
Bank statement	Last six months on bank headed paper, showing money in and out and enough funds for your costs. Internet printouts are not accepted. Explain any large deposits. For a savings account, add a bank letter confirming you can withdraw the money
Previous visa refusals	If any country (UK, Schengen, Canada, the Gulf or anywhere else) has ever refused you a visa, you must declare it and include the original refusal letter. Hiding a refusal leads to refusal. The same applies to deportation, refused entry or overstaying
Medical or travel insurance	Not required with the application, but the visa officer may ask for it, and you must be able to show it on arrival

Official documents issued outside Europe, such as birth and marriage certificates, must be attested or apostilled by the issuing country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be accepted for Irish visa purposes, and translations must be certified. If your family will join you later, read our guide to bringing your family to Ireland on a work permit before you start collecting their documents.

Ireland Work Visa Fees From Pakistan (Euro and PKR)

Cost	Amount	Who sets it
Employment permit (new, up to 24 months)	€1,000	DETE
Visa, single entry	€60	ISD
Visa, multiple entry	€100	ISD
Document lodging service charge	Varies, charged in PKR	The visa application centre
Irish Residence Permit (after arrival)	€300	ISD

In rupees: the euro has traded at roughly PKR 310 to 336 during 2026, which puts the €60 visa fee at about PKR 18,600 to 20,200 and the €100 fee at about PKR 31,000 to 33,600, before any card charges from your bank. Your bank’s rate on the day you pay is what counts.

The visa fee is an administration fee. ISD does not refund it if you withdraw or are refused, so get the documents right the first time. The employment permit fee can be paid by your employer or by you, depending on who makes the permit application; ask your employer early who is paying.

Processing Time and How to Check Your Visa Decision

ISD says applicants can expect a decision within about 8 weeks of the application arriving at the visa office. That clock starts when your file reaches Dublin, not when you submit it in Pakistan, and ISD notes that files can take days or even weeks to arrive.

Bar chart of Dublin Visa Office processing dates on 27 October 2026: employment visas from 25 August 2026, business 27 August 2026, study 22 June 2026, employment appeals 29 January 2026, visit visas 7 October 2025 — Dublin processing dates published on 27 October 2026. They change every Tuesday.

The Dublin Visa Office updates its queue every Tuesday. On 27 October 2026 it was deciding:

Employment visas: applications received up to 25 August 2026
Employment visa appeals: appeals received up to 29 January 2026
Business visas: applications received up to 27 August 2026
Study visas: applications received up to 22 June 2026
Tourism or visiting family and friends: applications received up to 7 October 2025

Two things stand out for Pakistani applicants. Employment visas move far faster than visit visas, so a family member’s visit visa will not keep pace with your work visa. And appeals are slow: an employment visa appeal can take many months, which is another reason to submit a complete file the first time.

How to check the weekly decision list

Our step-by-step guide to checking your Ireland visa decision covers every visa office, including Abu Dhabi and New Delhi.

Go to the Visa Decisions page on irishimmigration.ie.
Scroll to “Recent decisions in the Dublin visa office”, which is refreshed every Tuesday.
Type your eight-digit visa application (transaction) number into the search box. Each entry shows only “Approved” or “Refused”.
If your number is not there, your file has not been decided yet. Compare the date your file reached Dublin with the processing date for employment visas.

ISD does not fast-track applications because of a job start date. Its guidance says time-sensitive situations like employment start dates are common to most applicants, so they are not grounds for priority. Tell your employer the realistic timeline instead.

Pakistanis Living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar

ISD’s rule is that you apply from your home country or from the country where you are a legal resident. Many Pakistanis receive Irish job offers while working in the Gulf, and in that case you normally apply where you live:

UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman residents: the Abu Dhabi visa office handles these applications.
Visa-required nationals resident in Saudi Arabia: the Ankara visa office handles these applications.

Your AVATS summary form will confirm where to lodge. Abu Dhabi and Ankara publish their own decision reports on ireland.ie, so you would check there rather than the Dublin list. Keep your Gulf residence permit valid until you travel.

Refusals and Appeals

If you are refused, ISD sends a letter explaining why and whether you can appeal. For employment visas the rules are:

The appeal must arrive within 2 months of the date on the refusal letter.
There is no fee.
You get one appeal per application. If the appeal fails, you would need to make a fresh application.
Appeals are sent by post only, to the Visa Appeals Officer at the address in your refusal letter. Email and fax are not accepted.
Your appeal letter must include your full name, postal address, personal email and visa transaction number, and should answer each refusal reason with evidence.
Supporting letters must be originals on headed paper. Letters signed electronically, or from Yahoo or Hotmail addresses, are not accepted.

Note that since 1 June 2026, refusals of short-stay visas (such as visit visas) can no longer be appealed; you must reapply instead. Employment visas are long stay, so the appeal route above still applies.

The most serious outcome is reserved for false or misleading documents. ISD can refuse without a right of appeal and block the applicant from Irish visas for up to five years. A fake experience letter or a “borrowed” bank statement is not worth that risk.

Common Reasons Pakistani Applications Are Delayed or Refused

Based on ISD’s own document rules, these are the problems that most often sink otherwise good applications:

Undeclared refusals. A past UK or Schengen refusal that is not mentioned is treated far more seriously than one that is declared and explained.
Online bank printouts instead of statements on bank headed paper, or large deposits with no explanation.
Passport expiring too soon (less than 12 months after arrival).
Mismatched details between AVATS, your passport, the permit and the contract, such as a different spelling of your name or a different salary.
Thin evidence of experience, for example an experience letter with no payslips or salary credits to back it up.
Unattested documents or translations without certification.

After the Visa: Arriving and Registering in Ireland

A visa lets you travel; it does not guarantee entry. At the airport the immigration officer can still refuse entry, so carry copies of your application documents, your permit and your contract in your hand luggage. After arrival you register for your Irish Residence Permit (€300), get a PPS number and register with Revenue for tax.

Your work permission then builds towards Stamp 4, which removes the need for an employment permit: after 21 months on a Critical Skills Employment Permit, or after 57 months on a General Employment Permit. Our Stamp 1 vs Stamp 4 guide explains the path.

Agents, “Visa Packages” and Scams

Searches for “Ireland work visa price in Pakistan” attract a lot of agents. Keep these facts in mind:

The only fees ISD charges for the visa are €60 or €100. Anything far above that, plus the lodging centre’s service charge, is someone’s markup.
Nobody can sell you a faster decision. ISD processes applications in date order and does not expedite for job start dates.
No one can get you an Irish work visa without a genuine job offer and a DETE permit.
A genuine Irish employer does not sell jobs or charge you for “sponsorship”. Check that any employer exists on the Companies Registration Office register (core.cro.ie) and on DETE’s published list of companies granted employment permits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an Irish embassy in Pakistan?

Yes. The Embassy of Ireland, Pakistan is in the Serena Business Complex, G-5/1, Islamabad. Its visa page points applicants to Ireland’s immigration service, your AVATS summary form tells you where to submit, and applications from Pakistan are decided by the Dublin Visa Office.

How much is the Ireland work visa fee from Pakistan?

The visa fee is €60 for single entry or €100 for multiple entry, paid online when you submit your AVATS form. In 2026 that has been roughly PKR 18,600 to 20,200 or PKR 31,000 to 33,600 depending on the exchange rate. A separate service charge applies where you lodge your documents.

How long does an Ireland work visa take from Pakistan?

ISD’s guide is about 8 weeks from the date your application arrives at the visa office. On 27 October 2026 Dublin was deciding employment visa applications received by 25 August 2026, roughly nine weeks earlier.

How do I check my Ireland visa decision from Pakistan?

Search your visa application number on the Visa Decisions page of irishimmigration.ie, under “Recent decisions in the Dublin visa office”. The list is updated every Tuesday and shows Approved or Refused.

Can I apply for an Irish work visa without a job offer?

No. An employment visa is only available once you hold an employment permit, and a permit requires a specific job offer from an Irish employer.

Can I apply from Dubai or Saudi Arabia?

Yes, if you are legally resident there. UAE and Qatar residents apply through the Abu Dhabi visa office, and visa-required nationals resident in Saudi Arabia apply through the Ankara visa office. Your summary form confirms where to lodge.

What happens if my Irish work visa is refused?

You can appeal free of charge within 2 months of the date on your refusal letter, by post, answering each refusal reason. Only one appeal is allowed per application.

Do I need IELTS for an Irish work visa?

The employment visa document list does not include an English test. Some professions require one for registration, for example nurses registering with NMBI, and your employer may set its own requirement.

Related Guides

Official Sources

Verification note: every rule and figure in this guide was checked against the official sources above on 30 October 2026. Dublin processing dates are those published on 27 October 2026 and change every Tuesday. Rupee amounts are estimates based on 2026 exchange rates. This guide is information, not legal or immigration advice.

Ireland Work Visa from Pakistan (2026): Documents, Fees, Processing Time and Decisions