Ireland Lists 16 Countries Whose Citizens Are Exempt From Visa Application Fees in 2026

• Ireland's Department of Justice released an official list of 16 countries whose nationals are exempt from paying visa application fees
• The exempted countries span Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Western Balkans, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
• Citizens from the listed countries still need to go through the standard visa application process despite the fee waiver

Ireland's Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has officially named 16 countries whose nationals will not be required to pay visa application fees when seeking entry to the country in 2026.

The announcement positions Ireland as one of the more inclusive European Union member states in terms of visa fee exemption arrangements, with the list cutting across multiple regions of the world.

The 16 countries exempt from Ireland's visa fees

According to the Irish immigration authority, the nationalities covered by the fee exemption are nationals of:

1. Bosnia
2. Côte d'Ivoire
3. Ecuador
4. Indonesia
5. Jamaica
6. Kosovo
7. Kyrgyzstan
8. Montenegro
9. Morocco
10. North Macedonia
11. Peru
12. Serbia
13. Sri Lanka
14. Tunisia
15. Uganda
16. Zambia

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The list includes four African countries, Uganda and Zambia, from Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside Morocco and Tunisia from North Africa. Several Western Balkan nations also feature prominently, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

What the fee exemption actually means

It is worth noting that the exemption does not eliminate the visa requirement itself. Nationals from these 16 countries who need a visa or preclearance to enter Ireland must still submit a formal application and complete the standard process.

What changes is the financial barrier attached to that process. Other nationalities are charged a fee when submitting visa or preclearance applications, but citizens from the listed countries will have that cost waived entirely.

Ireland's visa fee framework covers various application types, from single-entry to multi-entry visas, as well as preclearance applications for specific categories of travellers. The exemption is limited strictly to the fee component across all these application types.

Travellers from the 16 countries are encouraged to visit the Irish Immigration website directly to confirm whether a visa or preclearance is required for their specific purpose of travel before initiating an application.

Source: YEN.com.gh