Publication
Designated States and exemptions to rules on pre-departure RT-PCR tests and Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Travel to Ireland from specific designated States is subject to mandatory hotel quarantine. This must be pre-booked in advance of travel.
These arrangements apply to any passenger who has been in any of the countries listed below in the previous 14 days, even if only transiting through one of these countries and even if remaining airside.
These arrangements also apply to any passenger who is travelling on to Northern Ireland.
It is important to note that the list of designated States will be subject to change at short notice and passengers are required to check the list before travelling to Ireland, to be sure of their obligations.
The Minister for Health has designated the following countries as designated States for the purposes of mandatory hotel quarantine:
- Botswana
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Eswatini
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Seychelles
- South Africa
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
Note: Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia were removed from this list on Friday, 16 July with immediate effect
Note: Nigeria was removed from this list on Saturday, 22 May with immediate effect
- Bangladesh
- India
- Indonesia
- Kuwait
- Myanmar
- Pakistan
Note: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, The Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates were removed from this list on Friday, 16 July with immediate effect
Note: Iran and Palestine were removed from this list on Saturday, 15 May with immediate effect
Note: Jordan and Lebanon were removed from this list on Saturday, 8 May with immediate effect
- Russia
Note: Turkey was removed from this list on Friday, 16 July with immediate effect
Note: Belgium, France and Luxembourg were removed from this list on Friday, 28 May with immediate effect
Note: Andorra and Georgia were removed from this list on Saturday, 22 May with immediate effect
Note: Montenegro and Serbia were removed from this list on Saturday, 15 May with immediate effect
Note: Armenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Ukraine were removed from this list on Saturday, 8 May with immediate effect
- Cuba (measures in place from 4am on Wednesday, 21 July)
Note: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Panama were removed from this list on Friday, 16 July with immediate effect
Note: Canada was removed from this list on Friday, 18 June with immediate effect
Note: the United States of America was removed from this list on Friday, 28 May with immediate effect
Note: Puerto Rico was removed from this list on Saturday, 22 May with immediate effect
Note: Bermuda was removed from this list on Saturday, 15 May with immediate effect
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uruguay
Note: Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana and Venezuela were removed from this list on Friday, 16 July with immediate effect
Note: Aruba and Curaçao were removed from this list on Saturday, 8 May with immediate effect
Designation under Section 38B (22) of the Health Act 1947
DownloadThere some limited exemptions from the requirement to complete mandatory quarantine:
- patients travelling to Ireland for urgent medical reasons
- international transport workers in possession of an Annex 3 Certificate; Drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles; Aviation and maritime crew
- Gardaí/Defence Forces personnel, while carrying out their duties
- travel to the State pursuant to an arrest warrant, extradition proceedings or other mandatory legal obligation
- diplomats, or travel to perform the function of or provide services to an office holder or elected representative
- transit passengers who arrive for the purposes of travelling to another State, and who do not leave the port or airport
The following may temporarily leave their place of quarantine when necessary to perform their essential function – and only for as long as strictly required:
- a person required to carry out essential repair, maintenance, construction or safety assurance of critical transport infrastructure, critical utility infrastructure, manufacturing services, information services, or communication services
- a member of staff of an international organisation, or person invited, carrying out functions required for the proper functioning of such organisations and which cannot be carried out remotely
- a passenger who is participating in a sporting event and has been provided with written certification by Sport Ireland
- journalists, carrying out their professional functions
- passengers with a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate who are travelling from the EU
- people who are travelling in the course of their duties and are an international transport worker in possession of an annex 3 certificate, the driver of a heavy goods vehicle or are aviation crew or maritime crew
- patients travelling to Ireland for urgent medical reasons, and that reason is certified by registered medical practitioner or person holding an equivalent qualification outside the State
- children aged 11 and under
- passengers whose journey originated in Northern Ireland and have not been overseas in the 14-day prior to arrival
- a member of the Gardaí or Defence Forces personnel travelling to the State in the course of performing his or her duties
- a person who travels to the State pursuant to an arrest warrant, extradition proceedings or other mandatory legal obligation
- travel to perform the function of or provide services to an office holder or elected representative, where such travel to Ireland is required to continue providing such services or performing such functions
- if a citizen has a genuine humanitarian emergency requiring urgent travel, and might not be able to obtain the result of a pre-departure RT-PCR test in time, they should contact the nearest embassy or consulate immediately for advice and consular assistance before commencing their journey
Mandatory quarantine requirements apply to all persons who have been overseas in the 14-days prior to entering Ireland. Arrivals from designated high-risk countries are subject to mandatory hotel quarantine. Persons exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine may still be required to quarantine at home. For all others arriving in Ireland from non-designated countries:
- a 14-day quarantine period must be undertaken at the address specified on the Passenger Locator Form
- passengers who travel from another country to Ireland, and arrive via Northern Ireland, must also observe the mandatory quarantine regime
- you may only leave your place of residence during the quarantine period to take a COVID-19 test, or for unavoidable reasons of an emergency nature to protect a person’s health or welfare, or to leave the State
- passengers are requested to arrange a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test to be taken at least 5 days after arrival in Ireland
- this test is free of charge
- the test should be booked in advance of arrival in Ireland and must be booked for a date at least 5 days after arrival
- you can also arrange a test by using a HSE walk-in testing centre. Details are available at https://www.hse.ie/cvdtest
- for arrivals from non-designated States, you can end your period of quarantine if you receive written or SMS confirmation of a ‘not detected’ RT-PCR test result taken no less than 5 days after arrival
- you must retain the written or SMS confirmation of your test result for at least 14 days
- if you do not fulfil the legal requirement for mandatory quarantine you are committing an offence
