The Consulate is operating with revised procedures due to the need to social distance. We would ask all our customers to conduct their business with us by phone, email or mail only for the moment in the interests of everyone's safety. Should you have an emergency situation and feel that you need to come into the Consulate in person, please contact us and our staff will advise if you do need to come in and assist with an appointment. Please do not come to the Consulate without contacting us first: the building has strict controls over ingress and you will not be admitted without a pre-arranged appointment.

During this period the quickest way to contact us is via the Contact Us form on our website. If you are in need of emergency assistance please contact the Consulate by calling +1 212 230 2480 and leaving a message, rather than through this form. 

If leaving a message, please remember to leave a number on which you can be contacted (which can accept calls). The answering machine is monitored regularly and a staff member will contact you as soon as possible.  The mailbox/Contact Us form is monitored during normal working hours only.  

PASSPORTS

In line with the Irish Government's announcment regarding a move to Level 5 restrictions from 24 December 2020, passport processing will be impacted. During this period online passport applications can be submitted but will only be processed when restrictions are moved to Level 4. Paper passport applications can continue to be sent to the Consulate for initial processing and checks, however these application will be queued by the Passport Office in Ireland for further processing once restrictions are moved to Level 3. Your documents will be held securely at the Consulate until this time. Upon return to Level 3 or lower, applications will be dealt with in the order they were received. Please note that paper applications submitted to the Consulate will not appear in the Passport Office's tracking system until they are picked up for processing once restrictions are moved to Level 3.

Please also note that, for paper applications submitted through the Consulate, the tracking system will show 'dispatched' when the passport is ready to leave the Passport Office in Ireland. Please allow at least three weeks from that date for the passport to arrive at the Consulate and then be sent on to you by FedEx, due to current restrictions at home which will result in delays in passports being sent on to us. 

Please note that we at the Consulate accept paper passport applications only for 1st time applicants and those who cannot renew their passports online because their Irish passport is over 5 years expired. Applications should be submitted by registered mail only at this time.  It is not necessary to come to the Consulate for this purpose.

Please note that all adult and children's passports can now be renewed online at https://www.dfa.ie/passportonline/ as long as it is under 5 years since the previous Irish passport expired.  If you can renew online (that is to say, you already hold an Irish passport which expired less than five years ago) you now must renew online. The passport office will no longer process paper applications from those who are eligible to apply for their passport online and any paper applications under this category will be returned to the sender. 

Please take note of the barcode number on the top of your application form before submitting it so you can track your passport at www.passporttracking.dfa.ie.  The barcode tracking number will only become live once certain checks are completed so please be patient if you don't see your application appearing in the initial weeks after submitting it.

If you wish to apply for an Irish passport for the first time, please check your entitlements. If your connection to Ireland is through a grandparent born in Ireland (i.e. if your parent was not born in Ireland), you must first be entered on the Register of Foreign Births and have received your Foreign Birth Registration certificate.  This is an online application process centralised in Dublin.  

The processing of Foreign Birth Registrations is currently paused in line with the move to Level 5 of the National Framework for Living with COVID-19 from 24 December 2020. If you have submitted supporting documentation to the FBR hub, it will be held securely until it reopens. If you have not submitted supporting documents, please wait until Ireland has returned to level 3 or lower on the National Framework for Living with COVID-19.

Details are available here: https://www.dfa.ie/about-us/contact-us/contact-foreign-birth-registration-citizenship/.

The Consulate has no involvement in the FBR process and thus is not in a position to advise on individual queries. 

VISAS

We have started a limited resumption of visa services. During this initial resumption phase, we will only be accepting Long Stay “D” visa applications, including Study, as well as those identified under our current criteria as Emergency/Priority visas. Please check the criteria for emergency visas and contact us to ensure you fall under this category before sending in any documents. 

US citizens do not require a visa for study in Ireland.  However, you must register with the immigration authorities on arrival.  If your university is delivering your course of study online only for the next semester, you should not travel to Ireland at this time.

It remains the position that we are not issuing short stay visas for non-essential travel. The processing of Working Holiday Authorisations is also suspended until further notice.  

For more information, please refer to the Visas section of our website.

Please stay safe and reach out to us if you need us.  For updates check twitter/facebook @IrelandinNY 

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. Flights continue to operate directly to Dublin from New York (JFK). 

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. 

What to do on entering Ireland from abroad:

• As of Saturday, 16 January, passengers arriving into Ireland from all countries, including the US, are required to show a negative result of a pre-departure PCR COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival in the State. Checks will be made by the Border Management Unit at Dublin Airport and by An Garda Síochána at other points of entry.
  Children aged six and under are exempt from this requirement. 

• 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.
• Passengers entering Ireland from red regions (which currently includes the United States),can exit quarantine early 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.
• 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.

• 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 website
  • Cork Airport website

• 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.

For our latest travel advice on the United States please see here. You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest info (@IrelandinNY)

Coronavirus in the US

Irish citizens can access localised up-to-date information for the New York Consular Area through the authorities listed below:

Connecticut twitter; Delaware twitter; New Jersey twitter; New York City twitter; New York State twitter; Pennsylvania twitter; West Virginia twitter

Please refer to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) website for further updates, including on travel restrictions to the US for those travelling from Ireland.

Follow medical advice  to protect yourself from COVID-19 and to prevent the spread of the virus. Be alert to common signs of infection: respiratory problems, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Seek medical advice if you experience these symptoms.

 Health-related info is also available here and here. 

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 the measures the US Government introduced on Friday 13 March restricting the entry to the USA of non-US nationals and permanent residents who had visited or resided in Schengen Area countries over the same period. 

 Non-US nationals with legal permanent residence in the US (i.e. Green Card holders) and their immediate family, as well as 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 country through one of thirteen designated airports and will undergo additional screening on arrival. Further information can be found here.

There are a number of internal travel restrictions put in place within the US in order to prevent the spread of the virus. If travelling within the US, you should check the relevant website (see above) of the state you are travelling to in order to ensure you comply with quarantine or other requirements.