Covid-19: Travel Advice for Irish citizens in Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia (current as of 5 June)
News
16 March 2020The situation regarding Covid-19 is a developing one and measures outlined below are subject to change. We advise checking latest regulations on the websites of the relevant authorities, which can be found below.
Please monitor the situation in Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia through the Embassy’s Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as local media and contact the Embassy at sofiaconsular@dfa.ie if you have specific concerns.
If you are an Irish citizen abroad, register your contact details through our Citizens’ Registration system so that the Embassy will be able to contact you quickly in the event of any major developments that may affect you.
Please note that anyone arriving in Ireland from abroad (including Great Britain but not Northern Ireland) is required to self-isolate for 14 days. This applies to Irish citizens and residents as well as visitors. For further information and advice on travel to Ireland please click here.
Bulgaria
Irish citizens (and all EU citizens) are permitted to enter Bulgaria. However, anyone, regardless of their citizenship, travelling to Bulgaria from certain countries including Ireland (as well as Belgium, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and UK or any non-EU/EEA etc. country except Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro) is required to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving. The authorities require the personal details and address in Bulgaria of anyone subject to this self-quarantine requirement and may check the location at some point during the 14-day period. Anyone found to have violated quarantine may be subject to penalties including fines or imprisonment.
Anyone planning to travel to Bulgaria from Ireland and back again should be aware that the Irish government advises against any non-essential overseas travel and requires anyone arriving in Ireland, including Irish citizens returning from abroad, to self-isolate for 14 days.
If you wish to return from Bulgaria to Ireland, you are advised to fly via London or Amsterdam in the absence of direct flights. You should check with the authorities of the country through which you intend to transit to make sure that there are no restrictions on doing so.
Regarding measures in place in Bulgaria: Until 14th June, Bulgaria is under a state of 'epidemic emergency', under which several measures to counter the spread of Covid-19 remain in place, such as physical distancing requirements, face masks, and limits on the number of customers or attendees at various kinds of shops/venues/businesses. Further information on measures being taken in Bulgaria may be found on the website of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Bulgaria (BG).
Georgia
In connection with the Covid-19 global pandemic, the government of Georgia declared a state of emergency on 21st March 2020. As of this date, all scheduled flights to and from Georgia have been suspended with permission only granted for a limited number of Georgian Airways and specially chartered repatriation flights. Irish citizens visiting/living in Georgia who wish to return to Ireland (or another place of residence) should contact us at sofiaconsular@dfa.ie for information on how to enquire about bookings on the remaining available flights. For up-to-date information on the situation in Georgia including any Covid-19 measures in place please visit StopCov.ge.
Armenia
At present, entry into Armenia is allowed only for Armenian citizens and their non-citizen family members as well as people with residency in Armenia. There are extremely limited air connections between Yerevan and Europe via Minsk with Belavia. 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.