What you’ll need to organise

You’ll need to sort out your own travel to the country and your accommodation while you’re there. We can then arrange for you to be collected and taken to meet your child.

You’ll also need to organise all the relevant visas and a valid check. If you have an existing check with the Garda vetting service (conducted in the least two years), please can you send us a copy. Alternatively, please provide a certificate of good character on letter headed paper from an employer and church leader who has known you for at least two years. 

Your family and friends are welcome to join you for your visit, providing they have completed the necessary paperwork, too. Please bear in mind that we don’t want to overwhelm the children so we like to make sure groups aren’t too large.

What we’ll organise

We’ll arrange for you to be collected from your accommodation and taken to meet your sponsored child at their home or another location, depending on your travel plans and where your child lives.

We’ll also make sure you have a host with you throughout your visit to help with logistics and can organise a translator, if needed.

Planning time

You need to have sponsored your child for at least a year before visiting and we need at least six weeks’ notice to arrange your trip – although, more time is always helpful!

Your visit day

Visits take place on one day and normally last between three and six hours. So we don’t overwhelm children, we also limit sponsors to one visit per year.

Where possible, we’ll arrange for you to visit your child’s home and project. If the project isn’t open or your child lives a long way away, we’ll find a more convenient location.

For more information about what to bring and how to prepare, please download the visit leaflet.

Costs

We’ll do our best to keep costs to a minimum, but you will have to pay for expenses such as transport, a translator, visit host and any meals. We’ll give you an idea of what these will be before we arrange your trip.

Paperwork

You’ll need to complete a Compassion Child Protection Form and each person over the age of 18 will also need to have a valid Garda check or certificate of good character (details above).

Final details

Once we receive your documents we’ll contact our country office to start planning your visit. Within two weeks we’ll be able to let you know the date, a rough idea of costs and details of your contact in the country.

If you’ve already confirmed your visit please download the Visit Handbook, to start planning your trip.

Other information

Above everything else, we want to keep our children, our staff and you safe, so it may not always be possible to visit your child.

If you have any questions, give us a call on 01932 836490 or e-mail info@compassion.ie