Short-Stay Visa Waiver Program resumed, expanded 

IMPACT – MEDIUM

The Irish government resumed and added countries to the Short-Stay Visa Waiver Program on Oct. 31.

Key Points: 

• Eligible foreign nationals who have a valid short-stay visa for the U.K. can now visit Ireland without an Irish visa. 
• To use the program, eligible travelers must enter the U.K. on a valid U.K. short-stay visa before traveling to Ireland. 
• Individuals from the following 24 countries are eligible under the Short-Stay Visa Waiver Program:  
  • Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.  
• Eligible foreign nationals may be able to stay up to 90 days under the visa waiver program.

Additional Information: The visa waiver program does not apply to travelers with an Irish visa wanting to enter the U.K. Hong Kong and Macao passport holders do not need a visa to visit Ireland. Travelers from Kuwait, Oman and Qatar cannot use the U.K. Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) to travel to Ireland from a third country. With an EVW, travelers must fly directly to the U.K. and then directly to Ireland to be able to enter the country without an Irish Visa. More information on the Short-Stay Visa Waiver Program can be found here.

BAL Analysis: Foreign nationals from the aforementioned countries can once again travel to Ireland for short trips if they are already in the U.K. on a short-stay visa.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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