Covid-19: Travel Advice (current as of 15 February)
News
15 February 2021If you are not travelling to Ireland for the purposes of returning to your ordinary place of residence or for vital work or other essential reasons, you are advised to reconsider your journey. If you do travel to Ireland from Bulgaria, please make yourself familiar with Covid-19 measures currently in place in Ireland.
Starting from the Saturday, 16 January, Ireland now requires passengers from all countries to show a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival in Ireland.
Passengers from other red or grey regions (please see here for details: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/situation-updates/weekly-maps-coordinated-restriction-free-movement are advised to restrict their movements for 14 days, or submit a negative PCR test within five days of arrival in Ireland you can take the PCR tests. At present, Bulgaria is listed as a red region. Travellers from the UK are requested to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival without exception.
Arrivals from Angola, Austria, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Eswatini, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Zimbabwe will be subject to stricter quarantine measures. With immediate effect, all people arriving into Ireland from these countries, along with Brazil and South Africa, must complete a full mandatory 14-day period of self-quarantine if they have been in any of these countries in the previous 14 days. There is no option to shorten the 14 day period by taking another RT-PCR test after 5 days. For now, the quarantine must be undertaken at the address given in the Passenger Locator Form.
Passengers from green and orange regions on the ECDC map are not advised to restrict their movements on arrival, but must adhere to the local public health guidance. Children aged six and under will be exempt.
Due to the current high rates of COVID-19 in Ireland, this information is subject to change. We recommend checking in with the below links for updates.
For more information on current travel rules and COVID-19 measures implemented in Ireland please refer to this links:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/b4020-travelling-to-ireland-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/2dc71-level-5/
For information on sites in Bulgaria where PCR testing can be done, please see the following link (in Bulgarian). An English translation will follow shortly.
Please also check with your airline company as to any measures they may have implemented for the health and safety of their staff and other passengers.
Information for travelling to Bulgaria:
Every foreigner who wants to enter Bulgaria between 29 January and 30 April will have to present a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours before arrival. This includes everyone arriving from the EU, the Schengen Area, and third countries.
However, Bulgarian citizens, long-term residents, and their family members can replace the test with a 10-day quarantine.
For more information on incumbent COVID-19 travel rules for Bulgaria, please contact the Bulgarian Embassy in Dublin:
https://www.mfa.bg/embassies/ireland
Detailed information (in Bulgarian) can be found here:
https://coronavirus.bg/bg/az-sum/zavrashtam-se-bulgaria
Travelling to Georgia or Armenia
Georgia: Entry into Georgia is subject to strict restrictions. The Georgian borders remain closed to all except:
- Accredited Diplomats and their family members;
- Business people, who have filled in a special business application form (found at the following link: https://registration.gov.ge/pub/form/7_protocol_for_arrivals_in_georgia/kcjcpx/. Please make sure to follow all quarantine guidelines, the expenses of which are born by the passenger). All applicants should also provide a relevant valid visa, if required, for entering Georgia;
- Participants in the “remotely from Georgia” program; and,
- Nationals and permanent residence permit holders of 18 European countries.
All those intending to travel must complete a passenger registration form before travelling. Passengers will undergo a PCR test on arrival at the airport at their own expense, before being escorted to a government approved hotel near the airport. Once a person receives a negative PCR test, they will be released from the hotel. They will need to retest every 72 hours four times, proving negative each time. Further information is available at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
The government has tightened local restrictions in regions seeing spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases. Additional restrictions are under consideration throughout Georgia, and you are advised to follow the local Georgian media sources for the most up-to-date information. For up-to-date information on the situation in Georgia including any Covid-19 measures in place please visit StopCov.ge.
Armenia: We advise against any non-essential travel. Entry into Armenia continues to be possible for Armenian citizens only, apart from:
- non-citizen family members of Armenian citizens;
- people with residency in Armenia;
- Representatives of diplomatic missions, consular posts, international organizations and members of their families;
- Persons from countries/regions, white-listed by Government decree based on their epidemiological situation.
Permitted arrivals are to be quarantined in designated locations or subject to mandatory self-isolation. They may undergo a PCR test, and if they receive a negative result, may leave self-isolation. Further information is available at Government of Armenia’s website.
At present, there are extremely limited air connections between Yerevan and Europe. Restrictions are in place throughout Armenia, and you are advised to follow the guidance of national and local authorities.For up-to-date information on restrictions in Armenia, please visit the websites of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.