Business Visas

The Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform has issued an information leaflet which covers the subject of Business Permission/Visas in Ireland. It outlines that if you are a non-EEA national and you wish to come to Ireland in order to establish a business, you will need to obtain a Business Visa from the Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform before you can do so.

However it is important to note that if you fall into one of the following categories of non-EEA national then you will not require such a Business Visa. These categories are:

Persons granted Refugee Status by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Dependant relatives of EEA nationals exercising a valid right to reside inIreland.
Persons granted permission to remain in the State on one of the following grounds:-
- Persons with permission to remain as the spouse of an Irish national.
- Persons with permission to remain in Ireland on the basis that they are the parent of an Irish citizen.
- Persons who have been granted temporary leave to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds, having been in the Asylum process (see Asylum Process)

Conditions of a Business Visa:

In order to be eligible for a Business Visa, applicants must comply with the following criteria: the proposed business must -

result in the transfer to the State of a minimum of €300,000 in capital;
create employment for at least two EEA nationals in the case of a new project or, at the very least, maintain employment in an existing business;
add to the commercial activity and competitiveness of the State;
be a viable trading concern and provide the applicant with sufficient income to maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependants without resorting to social assistance or paid employment for which a work permit would be required;

NB: It is also important to note that the applicant must be in possession of a valid passport or national identity document and be of good character.

There are however a number of exceptions to the conditions outlined at (a) and (b) above. These are -

where the applicant has been lawfully resident in Ireland for at least five years, has been resident in an employed capacity and has not breached any of the Immigration Laws during that time.
where the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is satisfied that the application is justified within the terms of the ‘European Council Resolution relating to the limitations on the admission of third-country nationals to the territory of the Member States for the purpose of pursuing activities as self-employed persons (1994)’.
where the applicant is seeking to exercise a right of establishment under one of the Association Agreements between the European Union and the countries of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
Where the applicant is a Writer, Artists and Crafts person.