An update from the island of Ireland

New York, January 6, 2022 - 

Tourism Ireland welcomes news about the lifting of additional pre-testing requirements for travel to the island of Ireland, introduced in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant. 

For visitors arriving into the Republic of Ireland from Thursday January 6, vaccinated travelers with a valid Digital Covid Certificate or another valid proof of recent infection or vaccination will not need a test. Unvaccinated travelers will need a “not detected” PCR test result taken within 72 hours of their arrival into Ireland.

These new regulations are effective immediately for the Republic of Ireland:

• Vaccinated or recovered travellers into Ireland will be required to present evidence of a valid Digital Covid Certificate or other acceptable proof of vaccination/previous infection prior to travel.

• Travellers who are not vaccinated or recovered will be required to present evidence of a not-detected RT-PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours before their arrival into Ireland. More detail and the latest information can be found here. 

More detail and the latest information can be found here.

Fully vaccinated travellers arriving into Northern Ireland after 4am on Friday 7 January need not present a pre-departure test certificate to the airline. 

They will still need to present a passenger locator form. In order to complete this, the traveller must book a post-arrival (day two) test. Self-isolation will no longer be required while waiting for a negative result. 

From 4am on Sunday 9 January, fully vaccinated travellers may take a faster, cheaper lateral flow test rather than a PCR, to be taken on the day of arrival or one of the two following days. Information for travelers arriving into Northern Ireland can be found here.

Alison Metcalfe, Executive Vice President North America & Australia/NZ said:

“Tourism Ireland very much welcomes the news that visitors will no longer be required to take a pre-travel Covid test before entry to the island of Ireland. The health and safety of all our visitors continues to be the priority, and we will ensure they are protected alongside a very warm Irish welcome and a great vacation experience. Our message – and that of the entire Irish tourism industry – is very simple: we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from the US”