Traveling to Ireland this Christmas during Covid? Here’s what you need to know

With the outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid, numbers of infections surging, and Christmas on its way we take a look at everything you need to know about traveling to Ireland in Dec 2021.

Although disappointing here we are celebrating our second Christmas with Covid at least travel appears to be bouncing back, somewhat, albeit with strike regulations. 

The Dublin Airport Authority told the Irish Times this week it expects to welcome 850k travelers through the airport over the 12 days of Christmas.  While this is a huge increase from the 235k travelers of 2020 it's a far cry from the 1.5 million who came through in 2019. Hopefully, soon, those figures will return. 

For now here's what you need to know if you're traveling in to Ireland, from the United States, and elsewhere.

Passenger Location Form

"Passengers must have completed a Passenger Locator Form prior to departure. The form will indicate which form of proof you are traveling with (proof of vaccination; proof of recovery; proof of a negative/'not detected' COVID-19 test)," a government publication states.

"Passengers must also carry the relevant medical document. The travel carrier will check your relevant test result upon departure and you may be asked to present it upon arrival to Ireland. Please retain your proof of vaccination, recovery or test result for 14 days after arrival."

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Queues in Dublin Airport at Christmas, 2021.

Vaccination

The key thing to be able to prove if traveling to Ireland is if you're vaccinated. The Irish government website advises that "Covid Certificate proof of vaccination means a record or evidence in written or electronic form" will be required to enter the state."

According to Reuters "Ireland has administered at least 8,801,939 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 89.1% of the country’s population."

PCR tests / Antigen tests

According to the Irish government site "if you do not have proof of vaccination or recovery, you will have to show a negative ('not detected') RT-PCR test which was carried out no more than 72 hours before you arrive in Ireland."

They add that if you have recently had "if you have proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19, you can show a negative ('not detected') antigen test which was carried out no more than 48 hours before you arrive in Ireland. Alternatively, you can show a negative ('not detected') RT-PCR test which was carried out no more than 72 hours before you arrive."

Traveling from the United States

All persons regardless of vaccination status or citizenship traveling from the United States must provide a negative Covid-19 test taken one day before traveling to Ireland. 

According to the United States Embassy in Ireland's website, effective Dec 6, 2021, "all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship, must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within one calendar day of travel.  

"Alternatively, travelers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel. "

They suggest checking with the Center for Disease Control website for more information. 

For more information, issued by the Irish Government on traveling to Ireland visit www.gov.ie.