How to Get an Ireland Working Holiday Visa – Updated 2024

by Caitlin
Published: Last Updated on
blonde woman with ponytail in scarf and purple jacket standing in a field with horses in the mountains of Ireland

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I graduated from college in January, by March of that year I had already figured out how to get an Ireland working holiday visa and was in the country. While the visa gave me a full year in Ireland along with the right to work in, I left at the end of November, so I spent a total of nine months in the country.

How I spent those nine months varied from riding horses in the countryside to working in a hostel in Lisdoonvarna. I had previously spent a semester at the University of Limerick so I already had some friends scattered around the country, and a good understanding of how much I loved this little shamrock isle. So between working gigs I also spent a lot of time traveling around and seeing everything I could manage. While my nine months did not find me successful in my ultimate quest: to find an Irish husband, I absolutely loved my time having the right to live and work in Ireland and I am wildly confident you will too. 

Who is eligible to get an Ireland working holiday visa

The Ireland working holiday visa is available to citizens of the following ten countries:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Hong Kong
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan
  • USA

Requirements do vary slightly based on your nationality. For the purpose of this post, and because I am American, all the information I provide here is in regards to applicants from the USA.

If you are a US citizen applying for a working holiday visa in Ireland you must have or be the following:

  • Over the age of 18
  • You must either be currently enrolled in, or have graduated within the past 12 months from, a full-time, in-person, post-secondary degree program
  • You must have a bank account with your name on it which holds at minimum $4,000

Wait, what? 

O.K. let me break that doesn’t a little bite more for you. So what the requirement means is:

  • You have to be out of high school
  • You have to be over 18
  • You can be enrolled currently in college
    • It has to be a full-time degree
    • It has to be an in-person degree
  • The degree could be an associates, bachelors, masters, or doctorate — anything beyond high school
  • Or you could have just finished one of the above mentioned degrees
  • If you have already finished your degree you need to have your application submitted within 12 months of program completion

How do you apply for an Ireland working holiday visa?

People like to fear monger when it comes to visa applications, and while it’s true that things like citizenship applications are difficult and arduous, working holiday visas are simple, straight forward, and meant to be easily obtained. 

If you have a reasonable level of understanding of bureaucracies and paperwork you will be just fine doing this on your own. You do not need to employ a professional for this process.

Your application bundle will need to include:

  • A completed application which can be found here
  • A copy of your passport, which must be good for at least 12 months following your planned entry into Ireland
  • Two passport photos – these can easily be taken just about anywhere, like a CVS
  • Your current resume
  • Two references
  • Proof that you are either currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from, a degree program, as outlined above. This can be one of the following:
    • Your diploma
    • A transcript
    • A letter from your college or university 
      • You need to provide original documents with your application. These will be returned to you.
  • Bank statements in your name which show you have access to at least $4,000
  • The application fee which can be found here and as of 2024 is $339 + postage (which varies from $13-21 based on which is your nearest embassy or consulate)

The above bundle of documents is your initial application, once it’s been approved you’ll receive a notice from the embassy to proceed with the second step. You will then follow-up with the second bundle including:

  • A return airline ticket. This doesn’t necessarily have to be from or back to the US but it has to show your entry to Ireland and then an exit ticket within 12 months of your entry date.
  • Your working holiday visa insurance – this must cover you for the duration of the visa i.e. 12 months. I recommend Insubuy as they are one of the few travel insurance companies that will cover you for that length of time.
  • Your original passport. Do send this certified mail, you don’t want this beloved item going missing.

What can you do with an Ireland working holiday visa?

Anything! Once you have the approved visa you are eligible to stay in the country work in any field for 12 months. 

Do note that you need to register with the Garda (the Irish police) within 90 days of your entry into Ireland. There is a €300 fee for this but skipping it is a criminal offense. There are stations all around the country so you just need to find the closest to you.

Once you’re registered, the same job boards you might use to look for work at home will be just as good to find work with abroad – Indeed, Linkedin, Idealist, Google, Craigslist.

Some Ireland specific job boards include:

Irishjobs.ie

Jobs.ie

hays.ie

And some industry specific job boards are:

Yard and Groom – for horse work, this is where I got my Ireland horse gigs

Hostel Jobs – for, you guessed it, jobs in hostels

Great Au Pair – for demi and au pair work, this is where i got my gig au pairing on my Australian working holiday visa.

Also have a look through Facebook groups. They can sometimes be filled with spam but sometimes can be useful if properly monitored. There are ones titled things like: Jobs in Dublin, Jobs in Ireland, Work in Ireland.

And don’t be afraid to just start talking to people, going into shops, handing out your resume, and see what pops up. Ireland does not have a booming economy, but it is still likely you will find something to keep you chugging along. 

Frequently asked questions about the Ireland working holiday visa

Q: Can I extend the visa one I am in Ireland?

Unfortunately the answer to this one is quick: no. The Ireland working holiday visa is good for one year only and it cannot be extended.

Q: Can I apply for the working holiday visa a second time?

Actually, yes! Assuming you meet the same requirements again then you are eligible to apply a second time. Unlike many other working holiday visas, like that in Australia, there is no upper age limit on the Ireland working holiday visa. However, you do need to wait a year from when your last visa expired before applying for a new one.

Q: Can I travel around Europe?

You absolutely can. After you arrive in Ireland you’ll need to go register with the garda (Irish police) who will get you a residency card showing that you are allowed to go in and out of the country as you want for the 12 months of your visa. However, you still have to follow the normal 90 of 180 days in the rest of the Schengen.

Q: What do I do for my working holiday health insurance?

As I mentioned, you have to have insurance as a part of your application package. Insubuy is a great choice for this. For the year of coverage you should expect to pay somewhere between $500-800. Alternatively, if you have insurance coverage in the US, or if you are still on your parents insurance, there may be a way to extend that coverage to international coverage at a fee — don’t hesitate to call up your insurance provider and ask.

Q: How long will the process take?

The official time is 6-8 weeks, which is quite quick actually for a visa turnaround. Often though, embassies give themselves more time rather than not enough, so I’d imagine you might expect a response in half that time. As I said, I was in the country within three months of my college graduation. You don’t need to rush though. Once you have an approved application you have 12 months to enter the country. Your 12 months on the visa will only start when you cross the border for the first time.

Q: What if I don’t have access to $4,000

All hope is not lost. First of all, you could have a joint account with someone else, a parent perhaps. Or, if you have someone who trusts you enough to stick that amount in your account for the purpose of this application, that works too. It doesn’t have to have been in your account for any amount of time prior to applying.

Got more questions? Check out the Embassy of Ireland in the USA department of Foreign Affairs website — they’ll likely be answered there. And if they’re not, don’t hesitate to contact one of their staff. 

My personal experience getting an Ireland working holiday visa

By the time I began looking into how to get an Ireland working holiday visa I had graduated from a college that not only offered but required a study abroad program. I had surpassed all requirements with three study abroad experiences by graduation.

In my sophomore year I did a three week, winter break, Spanish intensive in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In my junior year I did a spring semester in Limerick, Ireland through IFSA-Butler. And my final semester of college was spent in Meknes, Morocco through ISA.

woman with blonde hair in grey sweater smiling at camera
The largest Guinness in the world

When I graduated in 2011 I knew there was little chance I would be sticking around the United States. While the world of work visas was still entirely new to me, I had, somewhere along the line, heard about the working holiday program in Ireland. So I applied.

I was eligible for the visa because it was still within a year of my graduation date.

I returned from my final semester of school in Morocco just before Christmas, and my application was completed, accepted, the Ireland visa was in my passport, and I was back on Irish soil by March.

I headed straight for a horse farm in Tipperary, where I worked my arse off – you can read all about that here.

Have you been off on a working holiday visa? I’d love to hear about your experience both applying and in the country, stick it in the comments below! And while I can’t help you any more than this with the application process, I can totally help you think about where in Ireland you might want to go or to plan a trip around the country. Feel free to drop me a line and we can work on a personalized plan for you!

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