after googling the net and trying to call "inis" without success I hope you folks will be able to help me with one or another question...
I read through the website infos about applying for a short term visitor visa but still have a few specific open questions.
1. What would the invitation letter need to look like? Does anyone of you have a sample invitation letter he/she can share with me? (I am an EU-citizen of german nationality working in ireland since April 2008)
2. My friend is in fulltime employment in Nablus, however he gets paid in cash and doesn't have a bank account therefor he cannot proof that he has sufficient funds. (However he can provide a letter from his employer stating that he is in full term employment) I am ready to sponsor him. I have a well paid job in Dublin (since 1,5 years) and can provide a bank statement. How much will I be required to have on my account in order to be able to sponsor him for a 3 or 4 week stay with me in Ireland? Will he have any chance for a visa without having an own bank account?
3. Required documents listed a proof of relation. We are dating, however we are not in an official relationship we can proof with documents. Will it be sufficient to provide photos of both of us prooving that we know each other personally?
4. There is some confusion on my side about how to lodge the online visa application. It might be easier and less confusing to submit a printed out application form along with all required documentation in one and the same envelope. If he applies for the visa online where will I need to send supporting documentation to? Will they need to be sent prior to the online application or will they be required to follow the online application? Is there a PDF visa form available he can just print out and fill out by hand? To me this appears a lot easier and less confusing.
5. If I will act as his sponsor for the time of his stay can i send my bank statements / employer statement directly to INIS? Or will I have to send them to his postal address so he can submit them to his local irish consulate? For obvious reasons I prefer as few people as possible having hands on my very personal bank statements and would prefer if he didn't see them. How will this work out best?
6. Will there be realistic chances of him getting an irish visitor visa being a palestinian westbank citizen who has previously never travelled outside his country?
7. As soon as the visa is granted I will buy a medical insurance policy in his behalf so in case of emergency his expenses will be covered. As I don't know how high chances are that he actually will get the visa I would prefer to wait until the visa gets approved before I will spend money to pay for a medical insurance policy. However I am willing to sign a document that I will be responsible for making sure he will have medical insurance.
Advices advices advices?
I didn't think this would be such a jungle. Even if you can answer just one of my questions it would be very helpful.
Thanks very much
