I'm American, 33 yrs old and have been out of school for over a year. I want to stay in Dublin for 6-9 months for an unpaid internship. What are my options? Can I arrive in Dublin, stay 3 months, go to the UK or Northern Ireland for a weekend and come back to Dublin for another 3 months? Should I enter the UK first and get a 6 month stamp, go to Northern Ireland and somehow get to Dublin without getting stamped again? Could I spend 3 months in Dublin, 3 months in Northern Ireland and then 3 months in Dublin? Help!!! Thanks!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
An "internship" sounds like work to me whether it is paid or not. I think you need to research getting a residence visa for Ireland. First place to ask would be your local Irish embassy or consulate.
I would not try and get around the authorities noticing your presence, that is a recipe for a disaster if you are caught. There are no passport controls between Ireland and the UK, so travelling to the UK for a short time will not get you stamped out and stamped in again. Even if you travel to mainland Europe, when you come back and they see the previous stamp from you coming in 3 months previously they might ask some awkward questions.
Conclusion: do it legally with a visa.
Posted by
California 🦋
5293 posts
Kristin,
You may want to search for your answer here:http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/ireland.html
and more info here:https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/USA/
Posted by
OP
7 posts
FYI Everyone,
I called the Irish Embassy in D.C. this morning which has you call an 800 number in Ireland (I had to pay $2.90/minute!) and they said I can volunteer in Ireland with just a US passport. I can apply for Volunteer Visa but it's not necessary. I even said I was getting room & board in exchange for volunteer work. I asked if after 3 months I can leave and come back again a week later since the organization wants me to be there 6 months and the person just repeated "technically with a US passport you get 90 days in Ireland and there is no set amount of days you have to be out of country before re-entry." They also said I might want to call the GNIB about where I'll be living (not sure what that is). So I guess I'll go that route especially since I only want to do it once I'm hoping there is no problems.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Kristen: get it in writing!
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Yes that's a great idea. I will work on that.