Work/Holiday in Ireland as a South African

Hey Guys,

So I don't have the logistics all sorted out yet, but I was just wondering if you can answer some of the following (I will of course use the power of google to do some more in depth research)

Now, I've been toying with the notion of going to Ireland for a while now, as a South African I can stay in Ireland for up to 3 months without a visa, but I need one for N. Ireland, so this is a silly question, but what happens if I'm driving around and accidentally drive into N. Ireland? Silly question I know, but since I've never been to Ireland, I don't know how likely that is to happen.

Also, as a South African is it ridiculously hard to find work in Ireland? That's not the plan per se to use a tourist visa to find work, but I was just wondering if during the course of my stay I find a job would it be very hard to transfer my visa status? Would I need to do a visa run to a different country?

The whole European backpacking thing would be great, but ai I need a visa for such a lot of places and just see one big headache waiting on me if I attempt to do that.

So for Ireland how long would you say I need to thoroughly explore the country? I know money is a subjective so I won't ask about that thanks!

Hey,

I'm not sure about most of the Visa questions, but as for passing into Northern Ireland, unless you get picked up for doing something wrong - speeding etc. - then there are no border checks so if you accidentally drove into NI or through it then you're not going to get stopped, questioned and cross examined.
We drive up North to go shopping a lot because it's cheaper.
There are no physical markings on the roads to say where the border is, you just notice the signs change from Km into Mph and they are only in English. (In ROI the signs are in Irish as well as English)

Hope that helps a bit.

Alli