Visas

Update 15 January 2021

• All Irish VACs in China and Mongolia have reopened.
• Only long-stay visas ('D' categories) are currently being processed. Short-stay Visas ('C' categories) are not yet being processed due to ongoing restrictions in Ireland.
• We are not accepting new English Language study applications at this time. However, if a student was attending an English language study course in Ireland and had to return to Mongolia/China due to the pandemic, those students should contact irishvisabeijing@dfanet.ie and we will examine their individual situations.
• If you were unable to travel back to Ireland during the Covid-19 outbreak, and your IRP card expired during this period, please contact our office before making your visa application so that we can advise you about the procedure.
• Certain Priority/Emergency cases will continue to be processed by the Visa Office in Beijing until further notice.
• Those travelling will be expected to serve a 14 day period of self-isolation upon arrival to Ireland.

All Irish Visa Application Centres (VACs) in China and Mongolia are open. The operation of these VACs will continue to be carefully monitored by a range of stakeholders including VFS, Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) in Ireland and will be guided by public health advice set by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

The VACs will only allow long-stay applications to be made ('D' categories – further info below) at this time. No tourism or short-stay visas ('C' categories) will be processed due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in Ireland. Please be assured that we fully intend to resume our full range of visa services just as soon as public health concerns have been abated in line with Irish Government policy.

Travelling to Ireland

New pre-departure testing requirements from 16 January 2021 for all passengers travelling to Ireland.
 
Effective from 16 January 2021, all passengers arriving into Ireland (except those arriving from Northern Ireland) are required to have a negative/‘not detected’ result from a pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Ireland.
 
Passengers will be asked to present evidence of their negative/‘not detected’ result before boarding their airplane or ferry, and will be required to produce this evidence to Immigration Officers on arrival at points of entry to the State.
 
Passengers who arrive in an Irish Airport or Sea Port without evidence of a negative/‘not detected’ test result commit an offence and may be subject to prosecution, punishable by a fine not exceeding €2,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.
 
International Transport Workers, including workers in aviation, maritime and road haulage sectors are exempt from this requirement where they are travelling in the course of performing their duties.
 
Children aged 6 and under are also exempt from the testing requirement, although they are advised to restrict movements for 14 days.
 
Passengers who arrive in Ireland solely for the purpose of travelling onwards to another state and do not leave the airport are also not required to provide evidence of a test.
 
If a citizen has a genuine humanitarian emergency requiring urgent travel, they should contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate immediately for advice and consular assistance before commencing their journey.
 

Applicants should be aware that, by law, those travelling to Ireland will be required to fill out a form called the 'Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form'. This form (which should be completed before you travel) may be used by Irish health authorities to contact you to verify your location in Ireland. It will also help contact tracers to contact you if there is a confirmed case of coronavirus on your flight.

Applicants should also be aware that people can face a fine of up to €2,500 or six months in prison, or both, if you do not:

1. Fill in and submit the form to a relevant person.
2. Provide genuine and valid information.
3. Provide further information when requested.
4. Update your residence details if these change within 14 days of your arrival.
   
   Priority/Emergency Cases
   
   It remains the position that we are not accepting any short stay visa applications, except for cases that fall under the Emergency/Priority criteria. However, we have expanded the list of exemptions which fall under Emergency/Priority to include those specific categories of travellers, identified as having an essential function or need in the EU Council Recommendation (EU) 2020/912 of 30 June 2020. The updated list of exemptions deemed to fall into the Emergency/Priority cohort is as follows:

• Healthcare professionals, health researchers, and elderly care professionals;
• Immediate family members of Irish citizens* (who are returning to their ordinary place of residence in Ireland);
• Persons legally resident in the State;
• Persons entitled to avail of the provision of the EU Free Movement Directive;
• Transport personnel engaged in haulage of goods and other transport staff to the extent necessary;
• Frontier workers;
• Seasonal workers in agriculture;
• Diplomats, staff of international organisations and people invited by international organisations whose physical presence is required for the well-functioning of these organisations, military personnel and humanitarian aid workers and civil protection personnel in the exercise of their functions;
• Passengers in transit;
• Passengers travelling for critical family reasons;
• Seafarers;
• Persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons;
• Third-country nationals travelling for the purpose of study; and
• Highly qualified third-country workers if their employment is necessary from an economic perspective and the work cannot be postponed or performed abroad.

(*Please note that where an applicant and Irish national have been living abroad, and Ireland is not their habitual residence, these cases will be processed in the normal manner. Exceptions will be made in cases where an Irish national is returning to provide medical/health services, or family members are being repatriated as part of a consular arrangement.)

If you believe your application falls under one of these categories, please contact irishvisabeijing@dfanet.ie so that we can guide you through the application process and advise you how to submit your documentation.

Further information

Please click here For information on long-stay ('D'-category) visas.

A 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) document about the impact of COVID-19 on Immigration and International Protection in Ireland has also been published and can be found here.

For our customers based in China, please visit https://www.vfsglobal.cn/ireland/china/ for further updates.

For our customers based in Mongolia, please visit https://www.vfsglobal.com/ireland/mongolia/ for further updates.

For the most up to date information on the coronavirus in Ireland, please visit https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/travel.html