International Travel Restriction Advice for Ireland

CHRISTMAS TRAVEL: Can Irish citizens and residents book flights or ferries home? Is it okay to schedule a journey abroad from Ireland?

These are just some of the questions that have been asked all week in households here in Dublin and in far-flung areas of the country.

There is no rule to prohibit anyone from either flying to Ireland or flying out of Ireland. Flights are going every day, traffic has never ceased in Ireland, and it has never been forbidden.

Whether you plan to fly in or out of Ireland, you’re not going to be stopped at the airport or sent back home.

Obligatory quarantine is not in place in Ireland, nor is it a legal necessity for a person to limit his or her activities for 14 days after his or her arrival from another country, but as one of the main

steps to avoid the spread of Covid-19, it is strongly recommended.

On 15 June 2020, the European Commission released the Re-open EU, an online portal providing critical details on the secure re-launch of free movement and tourism within Europe. It shall include details on:

• Borders
• The modes of transport available
• Restrictions on transport
• Measures of public health and safety, such as physical distance or wearing facial masks
• Other useful knowledge for travelers

The EU also puts together up-to-date information from the Commission and the Member States. It helps users to access country-specific information via an interactive map, to provide alerts on relevant national initiatives, as well as realistic guidance to tourists in that country. Available in 24 official languages of the EU, the portal is easily accessible on desktop and mobile by following and bookmarking the EU Re-open link: Re-open EU.

In a bid to control international traveling amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new traffic travel system has entered into operation throughout the European Union.

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• The latest Irish traffic light travel system – Babylon

Under the new strategy, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will classify countries in the European Union as green, orange or red, based on the national incidence of Covid-19.

The ECDC will release a revised map on a weekly basis to assess the color of each country by comparison to the national 14-day occurrence and positivity rates.

The color of a given nation will decide the pandemic restriction precautions that travellers will be expected to follow.

From midnight on the 29th November, travelers arriving in Ireland from the so-called ‘red’ regions of the new traffic light system will be notified that they no longer need to limit their movements until they have passed the Covid-19 PCR exam (usually nasal swab) five days after their arrival here.

Travellers arriving from the orange regions do not have to limit their movements if they have the findings of a negative Covid-19 examination taken at least three days before their arrival.

Those who don’t have a negative result at their arrival in Ireland will have a test taken five days after their arrival.

Passengers will be asked to limit their movements until they have passed the examination.

At present, an individual is advised to limit their movements for 14 days after arriving from a red area.

The Covid-19 test centers are fully operational at Dublin, Cork, and Shannon Airports, which should be pre-booked in advance.

Private operator PCR tests cost between €130 and €199 in most cases in Ireland other private operators are also providing PCR tests away from airports.

Many airports in other countries offer free PCR tests. If demand increases, it is predicted that the expense here will be decreased. If other rapid experiments are accepted as alternatives to PCR, they would be much cheaper.

Children under 6 are to be exempt from testing requirements.

The US and other places are listed as ‘grey’ in the current lighting scheme.

Grey areas are known as ‘red’ countries or territories, and thus if you come from a red country or gray regions, such as the United States, from the 29th November you will be told that you can travel freely after you complete the PCR test five days after your arrival.

India

The Indian citizens or visitors who are planning to travel to India need to download the “Aarogya Setu” mobile app before travelling for tracking purposes. Along with that, you have to provide a Covid Test report which should have been taken less than 72 hours before departure. Once you will get your result you have to upload your result and personal details on https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration along with the exempt form. You will be told to restrict your movement for 14 days as well.

France

French people or those who are planning to travel to France must provide a Covid Test result which should have been taken less than 72 hours upon arrival. Travelers will be systematically invited to conduct such tests or examinations upon arrival. Both Passengers (age 11 and up) shall complete the COVID-19 Affidavit Statement that they do not have any symptoms along with Travel Declaration. A completed Public Health Passenger Locator Form and Int’l Travel Certificate to Mainland France must be issued upon arrival by each passenger and crew member on each aircraft, regardless of their nationality or where they live. https:/media.interieur.gouv.fr/attestation-couver-covid-19/

Germany

Travellers arriving in Germany who has lived in high-risk zones, during the preceding 10 days must self-isolate for 10 days upon entry. The length of the quarantine can be 5 days, based on local state legislation, whether the traveller has a negative COVID-19 test result. Travelers from high-risk areas within Germany will only be permitted to stay at a hotel in other regions if they are able to take a negative COVID-19 exam within the preceding 48 hours; federal officials warn against non-essential travel within Germany for occupants in high-risk areas.

United Kingdom

UK Authorities have a change in travel legislation that will go into effect on December 15th for those travelling into the UK from a country that is not on their travel corridor exemption list. Travelers from countries who can produce a negative Covid-19 test can reduce the self-isolation period from 14 days to 5 days. This is acceptable with the COVID-19 examination, paid for at the expense of the traveler, after five days of self-isolation. However, the test results can take up to 48 hours to be returned.

A Passenger Locator Form is available here-  https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/public-health-passenger-locator-form. It must be completed no earlier than 48 hours before your arrival time in the UK.

The deciding factor for the need to quarantine vs. being exempt is the country you are travelling from vs. COVID-19 Test Results. Passengers will need to provide details of the address at which they will live while in the United Kingdom and plan to be self-isolated for the length of their stay, whether one day or up to 14 days unless they travel in from any of the countries on the UK’s travel corridor list.

More Information about entry restrictions currently applied by other countries is available on the DFA’s country-specific travel advice pages.