Coronavirus situation - Notices
COVID-19 Travel Advisory
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises against all non-essential travel overseas. This includes Great Britain but does not apply to Northern Ireland. It also includes all cruise ship travel.
Those needing to return to Ireland should arrange to do so as soon as possible and without delay, in light of growing disruption in international travel. Those travelling from Belgium (or transiting via Belgium), please monitor your airline’s website regularly.
Anyone coming into Ireland, apart from Northern Ireland, will be required to restrict their movements on arrival for 14 days. Check the Irish Health Service COVID-19 Advice Page for full information on these requirements. This includes Irish residents. Essential supply chain services such as hauliers, pilots and maritime staff are exempt.
Easter Arrangements
The Embassy will be closed on Friday 10 April and Monday 13 April.
Our emergency contact details for Irish citizens seeking assistance over the Easter weekend can be found here.
Coronavirus - Dedicated phone line
Irish citizens in Belgium, or who intend travelling to Belgium, who have Coronavirus (COVID-19) related travel queries not covered by our Travel Advice can call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s dedicated advice centre on +353 1 613 1733 or use the WebChat facility.
Travel Advice for Belgium
Our travel advice for Belgium is available here or by downloading the TravelWise app.
Health related information is available from the following sources:
Belgian Health Ministry: Coronavirus Advice Page FR | NL | EN
Irish Health Service Executive
On March 17 the Belgian government announced enhanced measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Details are available here.
We encourage Irish citizens in Belgium to sign up to BE-Alert to receive the latest updates directly from the Belgian authorities.
Follow @IrishEmbBelgium and @DFATravelWise on Twitter for the latest updates.
Citizens' Registration
Irish citizens travelling or living in Belgium are encouraged to register their contact details with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade so that we can contact you or your family in case of emergency.
Please note that this is separate to the Embassy News & Events newsletter.
Embassy Services
The Embassy is currently operating remotely and our public office is closed, so as to support efforts in Belgium to suppress the transmission of the Coronavirus.
The Embassy is currently focussed on providing emergency consular services only.
Appointments are available for Irish citizens requiring emergency consular assistance by contacting us.
For all other queries, please email us and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
If contacting us by phone, please ensure you include a phone number if leaving a voicemail message so that we can return your call.
Irish Passport Services
In line with restrictions in place in the passport service in Ireland, the Embassy is temporarily not accepting or processing passport applications.
You can continue to apply using Passport Online, however applications will only be processed once normal passport operations resume in Ireland.
If you have a query regarding an existing passport application that you have submitted to the Embassy, or if you need a travel document for a genuine emergency (death or serious illness of a family member, or emergency medical treatment), please contact us.
Visas for Ireland
We have temporarily ceased accepting new visa applications. For more information, please visit the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service's website.
Embassy Events
We regret to announce that we have decided to postpone all public events at the embassy for the coming months.
