Please note that there may be further changes to the criteria below at short notice.

Visa Requirements for Persons Travelling from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe (or persons who have been in those countries within the last 14 days).

If you are a visa required national and you are travelling to Ireland from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique or Zimbabwe, you will need to comply with the restrictions on travel provided for in Regulations made by the Minister for Health in the HEALTH ACT 1947 (SECTION 31A – TEMPORARY RESTRICTIONS) (COVID-19) (RESTRICTIONS UPON TRAVEL TO THE STATE FROM CERTAIN STATES) (NO. 5) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 6) REGULATIONS 2021. While the Regulations apply to all travellers regardless of whether they are visa required or not, this note only concerns visa required nationals.

The Regulations provide for a number of exemptions. The relevant ones for visa required nationals are set out immediately below, Visa applications will only be accepted and processed where the person comes within the one of the following exemptions:

You are a person who:

  • has obtained or is entitled to apply for a right of residence under EU Free Movement;

  • has a valid Residence Permission in the State under the immigration Acts (Please note: if you have a valid IRP card or you are a person covered by the interim arrangements that apply from 15 November 2021 to 15 January 2021 this continues to satisfy the residence requirement and possession of an IRP card, in these circumstances, means that you do not need to make a separate visa application.)

  • is a family member of an Irish citizen

  • is a diplomat and to whom the privileges and immunities conferred by an international agreement or arrangement or customary international law apply in the State, pursuant to the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Acts 1967 to 2006 or any other enactment or the Constitution.

Persons in these categories will, of course, have to comply with all relevant health measures in place for international travellers and should limit their travel to essential journeys only.

Please note that the Regulations only apply to persons travelling from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe; if you have not been in one of these 7 countries in the previous 14 days prior to the date of arrival in the State, then the Regulations do not apply to you and you can make your visa application in the normal way;

You can check here to see if you are a visa required national. Please note that if you are a citizen of one of the 7 countries concerned then you are subject to Irish visa requirements.

When making your application, the Minister would ask you to please keep in mind that Visa Offices and Missions abroad might be operating restricted hours due to local pandemic measures. This may impact on processing times.

Applicants can find out the current processing time for their visa application type by checking the website of the Visa Office or Embassy to which you have made your application. Once a decision is made on your application you will be contacted to notify you.  By keeping contacts to the Visa Office or Embassy seeking an update on your application to a minimum, the Department can ensure that all resources can be concentrated on processing emergency/priority applications.