Update July 1 2020

Travel from the United States to Ireland is not currently restricted. Although there are no travel restrictions in place, the Irish Government is still advising against non-essential travel. If you must travel to Ireland, you must restrict your movements for 14 days after arrival. For US travellers, please note that the US Department of State also continues to advise against all but essential travel.

Everyone entering Ireland will be required to complete a Passenger Locator Form upon arrival and the self-isolation requirement must be strictly adhered to. More information on how to self-isolate is here:

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/managing-coronavirus-at-home/self-isolation.html

Update June 18, 2020

The Chicago Consulate remains operational, however the public office is closed until further notice. For all other enquiries, please email us through the 'contact us' section or call our office between the hours of 10 am - 1 pm CST at 312 337 2700 Mon-Fri. Outside these hours, emergency services are available by calling the emergency number on our website. Please leave a voicemail and your call will be returned as soon as possible.

Travel to Ireland

The latest travel information is outlined here https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/travel.html All passengers must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival and complete the passenger locator form for submission to border control upon arrival. 

Passports

For those seeking to renew a passport for an adult or child, you must submit using the online service here: https://www.dfa.ie/passportonline/  This process is substantially faster than the paper application, and is available for passport holders whose most recent Irish passport has not expired more than five years ago or whose passport is due to expire within 12 months.

Where an applicant is eligible to renew their passport online, they must use this online system. 

The passport office will no longer process paper applications from those who are eligible to apply for their passport online.

For those who are not eligible to renew online, or for first time applicants who must use the paper application form, we ask for your patience as we work to resume normal operations and address COVID-19 related processing delays. All paper applications for the US states of IL, IN, WI, MI, OH, MO, SD, ND, KY, NE, MN, IA, KS, TN, OK, TX, AL, MS, LA, AR must be sent by mail to the Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago. Our public office is not open for accepting passport applications at this time.

Visas

Starting Monday 22 June, the Consulate will begin accepting applications for long stay (D) visas. All application materials, including original passports and fees, must be sent to the Consulate by post. The full list of long-stay visa types and documents required for these applications can be found on the INIS website here: 

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Long%20Stay%20Visas%20(More%20than%203%20months)

Applications for short stay (C) visas (which includes applications for tourism, visit family/friend, and business) are still suspended, excluding cases of emergency. This policy is in place until further notice. Do not submit an application without contacting the Consulate first at visadeskchicago@dfa.ie. 

Further information on visa services during COVID-19, as well as the criteria for Emergency/Priority visas, can be found on the INIS website here: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/COVID-19-updates-and-announcements 

The processing of Working Holiday Authorisations is temporarily suspended until further notice. 

Citizenship Enquiries/ Foreign Birth Registration/Citizenship Through Grandparent or Great-Grandparent

The Consulate has no role in the processing of these applications, and thus is unable to advise on the eligibility of an applicant or the content of the applications, nor are we able to provide updates on pending applications. All queries related to FBRs must be directed to the Citizenship Office in Ireland. Please note that their staff have been re-deployed to help with COVID-19 response. You can get updates on their operational status by monitoring their website here: https://www.dfa.ie/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/

Update March 27, 2020

The Government of Ireland has extended travel advice to all Irish citizens and residents overseas who are on short term temporary visas, including J1's, you are strongly encouraged to return to Ireland at the earliest opportunity. 

Update March 16, 2020

As of 16th March, the Government of Ireland is recommending against all non-essential international travel, including to the United States. 

While the US Government has introduced restrictions on travel to the US from Ireland, there are no restrictions on flights from the US to Ireland. Irish citizens, and others, are free to leave the US on any scheduled flights from a US airport and transatlantic flights continue to operate, albeit with schedule changes. 

This is a fast-moving situation, however. As such, we strongly encourage all Irish citizens and residents wishing to return to Ireland to make provision to do so now. 

You should book or make changes to your existing bookings directly with your airline, recognising that airlines’ call centers are under significant pressure.  

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. On return to Ireland, all travellers will be requested to restrict their movements for 14 days and complete a passenger locator form. 

Update March 15, 2020

For Irish citizens in the USA seeking travel advice, Please refer to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation for latest updates on the outbreak at national level and to our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Ireland’s official travel advice. In Chicagoland, public health information is available here.

We also recommend that all citizens download the Department of Foreign Affairs TravelWise App which gives advice for Irish citizens traveling abroad.

U.S. Travel Restrictions

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak the US has implemented special entry restrictions for their territory. 

As detailed in the US President's Proclamation of 14 March, from 11.59 EST Monday 16 March, entry into the US will be restricted for those travelling from Ireland and the UK. Non-US nationals, including Irish nationals, who have visited or resided in Ireland or the UK for any period in the 14 days prior to their travel to the US will be denied entry, unless they are legal permanent residents of the US (i.e. green card holders), or are the spouse or child of a US national or permanent resident, or the sibling of same providing both are under 21 years of age. 

This extends the coverage of measures the US President announced in Proclamation of Friday 13 March, restricting the entry to the USA of non-US nationals who had visited or resided in Schengen Area countries over the same period, and Proclamations published on 31 January and 29 February, respectively restricting travel from China and Iran. 

Non-US nationals with legal permanent residence in the US (i.e. Green Card holders) and their immediate family, as well as the immediate family (spouse and children) of US nationals, are not restricted from entering the US. However, if travelling from a restricted country they will now be required to enter the US through one of thirteen designated airports and will undergo additional screening on arrival. Further information can be found here. 

It is important to note that there are currently no restrictions on flights from the US to Ireland or the UK. You should check with your airline for any additional information they may require before you can board.

Consular Assistance

At this time the service window at the Consulate in Chicago will remain open exclusively to Irish citizens in case of emergency. We have taken this step in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.

We remain open for emergency consular services for Irish citizens. We will, however, operate an appointment only service through the week. If you need to make an appointment for emergency services please contact us at email: chicagocongen@dfa.ie. We ask that you declare your travel history for the past 30 days when requesting an appointment.

If you are in need of emergency assistance over the weekend or outside of our office hours, please contact the Consulate at +1-312 330 7823 and leave a message on the answering machine. The answering machine is monitored regularly and a Duty Officer will contact you as soon as possible.