Atlanta

While the Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta remains closed to the public due to COVID-19 related restrictions, we are fully operational at this time. During this period, the quickest way to contact us is via the Contact Us form or by email to atlantacg@dfa.ie. We will reply to all queries.

If you are in need of emergency assistance, please call us on +1 404 554 4980 and leave a message: our team will get back to you promptly.

Passports

Passport application processing is currently suspended due to Level 5 restrictions under Ireland’s National Framework on Living with COVID-19, which entered into force on 22 October and which are to remain in place for at least six weeks.

If you have previously submitted a passport application, your documents are being held and your application will be processed once normal operations resume.

If you require a passport application form or further information at this time, please contact us. As the Consulate in Atlanta does not process passport applications, please check the websites of the relevant Irish Consulate for updates and before submitting an application (New York for passport applications submitted from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida; Chicago for passport applications submitted from Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee).

Citizens seeking to renew existing passports (as distinct from those applying for an Irish passport for the first time) may still submit an application through the Irish Passport Online service (https://www.dfa.ie/passportonline/). Applications submitted online will be the first processed when the Passport Office resumes full operations.

Latest Official Travel Advice

The Government of Ireland continues to recommend against all non-essential international travel, including to the United States. 

Irish citizens, and others, are free to travel from the US to Ireland on any scheduled flights from a US airport and transatlantic flights continue to operate, albeit in reduced numbers and from a reduced number of airports. 

You should book or make changes to your existing bookings directly with your airline.  You should check regularly with your airline’s website for status updates and for any additional information they may require before you can board. 

We strongly recommend that you do not travel to an airport without a confirmed booking.

What to do on entering Ireland from abroad:

• You should be aware that the Irish Government continues to recommend against any non-essential travel to Ireland at present.  The US government also advises against most non-essential international travel currently, including to Ireland. 

• Ireland has implemented the EU ‘Traffic Light System’ whereby restrictions are based on the location of the passenger during the 14 days prior to arrival. In general, you are requested to restrict your movements for 14 days if you arrive into Ireland from another country. This applies to all travellers entering the State, including Irish citizens coming home and people with no symptoms. Restricting your movements means avoiding contact with other people and social situations as much as possible. Ireland’s Health Service Executive has provided guidance on how to restrict movements on their website.  

• Persons who feel unwell or experience symptoms of COVID-19 while in Ireland should self-isolate and contact their General Practitioner or HSE Live on 1850 24 1850 immediately as per the Health Service Executive guidance. For life-threatening emergencies, call 999 or 112.

• From midnight on 29^th November, the request to restrict movements for 14 days may not apply to passengers entering Ireland from red regions, (which currently includes the United States), following receipt of a negative/not-detected result from a Covid-19 PCR test taken a minimum of five days after arrival in Ireland. Test results can take a few days; passengers are requested to continue to restrict their movements until they have the negative result. The PCR COVID-19 test is currently the only test type considered acceptable by public health authorities in Ireland in relation to international travel.  Testing provision under Ireland’s framework for international travel will not be provided through the public health system, but will be met by the private commercial sector testing supply and paid for by passengers.

• You will need to check any re-entry requirements for the United States. You may be required to obtain a test before returning to the United States; Please check https://www.cdc.gov and the website of your state health department for the most up-to-date requirements.

• The links below on Cork and Dublin airports websites give details of the current companies providing PCR tests.
  • Dublin Airport 
  • Cork Airport 

• The general request to restrict movements does not apply to persons travelling for an essential need or function as defined by Paragraph 19 of the EU Council Recommendation on Travel for an Essential Purpose.

• It is the responsibility of each individual to determine if their circumstances fall into one of the categories in Paragraph 19 of the EU Council Recommendation on travel for an essential need or function.

•  For up-to-date information on what to do if you are travelling to Ireland at this time, please see the Irish Government website https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/75d92-covid-19-travel-advice/

• To ensure that this is being observed, all passengers arriving to Ireland from overseas are obliged to complete a mandatory Public Health Passenger Locator Form and to submit it to the relevant authority at their port of entry. Exemptions are in place for providers of essential supply chain services such as hauliers, pilots and maritime staff.  Check the Irish Government Advice Page for full information on these requirements.

• Further advice for people who have recently returned from abroad is available from the HSE. Please heed this restriction carefully in order to protect yourself and others.  Please also download the new tracker app which will help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ireland.

Foreign Birth Registrations

The processing of Foreign Birth Registrations or FBRs (through which Irish citizenship can be claimed by persons with a grandparent born on the island of Ireland) is currently suspended due to Level 5 restrictions under Ireland’s National Framework on Living with COVID-19, which entered into force on 22 October and which are to remain in place for at least six weeks.

When processing operations resume, due to the complex nature of FBR it will take between 12 to 18 months to process a completed FBR application.

Visas

You do not need an entry visa for Ireland if you are a passport holder of the United States.

Please note that our Embassies and Consulates have now resumed accepting long-stay 'D' visa applications, including study visa applications.

Applications for short-stay 'C' visas are not being accepted at this time due to COVID-19.

Our Embassies and Consulates can also issue visas for certain types of priority/emergency cases.

Information on visa services during COVID-19, including the criteria for Emergency/Priority visas, can be found here.

Additional Resources