Travel from US to Ireland this summer? Latest advice

If you're planning to travel from the US to the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, you need to familiarize yourself with the process of arriving during the pandemic.

In short, yes, you can travel from the US to the island of Ireland right now, but entry restrictions are fluid and can change. You are advised to check what requirements are in place before you travel.

As of June 30, your vaccination status does not play a role in entry requirements in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.

However, it is expected that from July 19, the Republic of Ireland will broadly align itself to the EU approach to non-essential travel into the EU from third countries, such as the US. From then, if the US does not have an "emergency brake" applied at the EU level, no travel-related testing or quarantine will be necessary if the passenger has valid proof of vaccination. It is not yet confirmed if this will be the case for US arrivals in the Republic of Ireland as of July 19.

[Editor's Note: As of June 16, the US is included on the EU's white list for which travel restrictions should be lifted.]

Northern Ireland is also expected to roll out its own vaccine passport scheme by July 19.

As of June 30, there are no mandatory hotel quarantine requirements for people arriving in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland from the US, regardless of vaccination status. However, there are home quarantine requirements, which differ slightly between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

If you are traveling to the Republic of Ireland from the US, you can find travel advice here from the Irish government.

If you are traveling to Northern Ireland from the US, you can find travel advice here from NI Direct. (The US is on Northern Ireland's amber list as of June 30.)

Here's a breakdown of what to expect if you're traveling from the US to the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, as of June 30:

Travel from the US to the Republic of Ireland

As of June 21, the official advice from the US State Department is to "reconsider travel" to the Republic of Ireland.

Arrivals from designated high-risk countries are subject to mandatory hotel quarantine. The US is not currently designated a high-risk country and is not currently subject to mandatory hotel quarantine in the Republic of Ireland.

Currently, all passengers arriving in the Republic of Ireland from the US must:

Complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form
Provide evidence that you have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out no more than 72 hours before you arrive, or have evidence that you are exempt from this legal requirement. (Antigen or other test types do not meet the requirements.)
If you do not have proof of a negative RT-PCR test, you will have to complete mandatory hotel quarantine at your own cost.
If you have proper proof of an RT-PCR test, you must undertake a 14-day quarantine period at the address specified on your Passenger Locator Form. (This applies if you arrive via Northern Ireland).
You are requested to arrange a COVID-19 RT-PCR test to be taken at least 5 days after arrival in Ireland. This is free of charge and can be booked here online.
You can end the period of quarantine upon receipt of a written or SMS confirmation of a ‘non-detected’ RT-PCR test result taken no less than 5 days after arrival. You must retain a copy of your test results for 14 days.

You can view the full list of exemptions for pre-departure testing here, and the full list of exemptions for mandatory quarantine here.

If you have queries of an urgent nature regarding travel to the Republic of Ireland in the context of COVID-19, you can call the Emergency Travel Advice Line at +353 (0)1 613 1700.

Travel from the US to Northern Ireland

As of June 21, the official advice from the US State Department is to "reconsider travel" to the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland.

The US is currently on the United Kingdom's 'amber list' for travel restrictions.

If you’re traveling to Northern Ireland from an amber list country, either directly or via another country, including British and Irish nationals returning home, you must:

Complete a UK passenger locator form 48 hours before departure
Provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR, LAMP, or antigen) result taken up to three days before departure. (Only people over the age of 11 must present test results.)
Book post-arrival testing and take a COVID-19 test on day two for variant surveillance and a test on day eight to check that you do not have COVID-19. You can book post-arrival testing online here. (Only people over the age of five are required to complete post-arrival testing.)
Self-isolate for 10 days. (If you're traveling to Northern Ireland for less than 10 days, you will be expected to self-isolate for the length of your stay.) Even if you test negative for coronavirus during self-isolation, you must continue to self-isolate until the full 10-day period is over.