Entry Visa Processing Suspended Indefinitely

The situation

Due to government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, entry visa processing for Ireland has been suspended, with some exceptions.

A closer look

• Population affected. Foreign nationals who require an entry visa. See the full list here.
• Exceptions. Ireland’s government website lists the following exceptions to the suspension, among others.
  • Workers or self-employed persons exercising critical occupations including healthcare workers, frontier and posted workers as well as seasonal workers;
  • transport workers or transport service providers, including drivers of freight vehicles carrying goods for use in the territory as well as those merely transiting;
  • patients travelling for imperative medical reasons;
  • pupils, students and trainees who travel abroad on a daily basis and third-country nationals travelling for the purpose of third level study;
  • persons travelling for imperative family or business reasons; and
  • passengers in transit.
• Online application status. The initial online application can still be filed but the process cannot be completed until further notice.
• Unaffected applications. Employment Permit applications and processing is unaffected by this change.

 

Background

This suspension comes in addition to the additions to the visa-required and transit visa-required lists last week. Under those new rules, until at least March 5, 2021:

• visa-free travel for nationals of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, South Africa and Uruguay is suspended; and
• nationals of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Suriname and Uruguay must present a valid Irish transit visa when arriving in Ireland when transiting to another country.

 

Impact

Travelers who require an entry visa may not be able to complete their application in time, and employees who require entry visas may not be able to obtain their visa for travel to Ireland in their originally-planned timeframe.

Looking ahead

It is not clear when this suspension will end. Fragomen will report on further developments.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19-related travel bans, restrictions and concessions, among other information, check Fragomen’s dedicated website. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].